


3 Heroes from a Different World

by TheNoca



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anti-Hero, Betrayal, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Child Death, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Female Anti-Hero, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Harems, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Major Character Injury, Manga & Anime, Minor Character Death, Multi, Older Characters, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Overprotective mother, Partner Betrayal, Past Character Death, Post-War, Pre-War, Psychological Drama, Sacrifice, Sad and Happy, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Insert, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, Temporary Character Death, Tsunderes, War, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2019-12-25 06:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18255869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNoca/pseuds/TheNoca
Summary: High school. Something that will either make you or break you. Whatever you do and accomplish in your high school career will define who you are as a person. What if you're defining moment isn't necessarily in your high school building, but in a whole different world?Johnny One, Jeanne One, and Brittany Smith are high school students all trying to define themselves to the student body. However, when they are brought to the world of Iprionia, a world torn apart by a third party threat along with tensions within the allied regions. Their job is to bring the surrounding regions together and fend off this third party menace.All three heroes differ in personality with Johnny being a little laid back and relying too much on his inherited powers from his ancestors. Jeanne is someone who doesn't quit and doesn't know when to actually quit when need be, causing multiple strategies to fail. Brittany is the only competent out of the three due to her having more experience in Iprionia despite having a whole different persona on Earth.How will these three different heroes be able to work together despite their quirks?





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent about 3 and a half weeks working on this story and how it was going to progress along with how it ends. I was really torn about how it would go for the climax and how each character would have their story set. It took a while, but I finally managed to get it down to the point I have a definite ending along with the characters story. Yes, this may seem generic to most anime that have this "Teleported to another world", but to be honest, those are isekai anime (Reincarnation anime), and this is one only has the characters be brought to another world and the only anime I know of with this similarity was Dog Days, and I enjoyed that anime.
> 
> Don't mind the small anime tropes or any of the weird relationship developments. Take note that the 3 heroes are aged 14-15. I know I didn't mention that in the summary, but I don't get that many words to my word count. So 2 of the heroes are 14 while the other is 15. Just take that into mind for later arcs.

The annoying sounds of a loud alarm clock rang through an empty house. The source of the clock came from a rather messy room along with a messy sleeper. The alarm clock blared right into the sleeper's ear. The sleeper groggily looked up and looked at the clock, "6:30? Ah...," He went back to sleep, but his shot open as he stared at the clock, "6:30! Shit!" The sleeper got up and slipped on their bedsheets and fell face first on the floor, "Ow!"

They shrugged it off and ran off to the bathroom after grabbing a shirt and a pair of pants, "I have to brush my breakfast and comb my teeth!" He took out his hairbrush and proceeded to place toothpaste on it. He didn't realized until he brought it to his mouth, "Damn it..."

He placed it back down after washing the toothpaste off and took out his toothbrush, "Gotta hurry! No shower this morning. Just douse yourself in deodorant and cologne...," After brushing his teeth and doing all the bathroom necessities, he ran out pulling up his pants and fixing his hair, "I'll put my shoes on in the car," The guy placed some waffles in the toaster and ran off to his room again, "Bag... books... things I need for school..."

The guy picked up his book but fumbled it due to his hands being slippery from an abundance of cologne. He was able to gain control after some flashy moves with his hands. He placed his only book along with his binder and some notebooks in his bag just as his waffles finished up, "Toasty... just how I like them. No time for syrup!" He looked over at the clock on his stove and nodded, "6:45. Gotta go!"

Before he ran out, he ran by something on his mantel in the living room. It was a box that held a necklace and a disc inside of it. The necklace was special to him as it was given to him by his father before he went off on to live on his own. His name was crested onto it, "I think I'll wear you today," He took the necklace out and placed it around his neck and smiled, "Alright... time to go!"

He ran outside only to run into someone, "Ah!" A bright flash filled his vision for a short second before it was cleared to reveal him to be in a meadow of some kind, "What the hell? This not my school or my front yard!" He looked around and looked underneath him. It was a man that donned heavy armor of some kind, "What?"

The person shook their head and smiled, "Greetings chosen one!" They spoke with a noble-like voice. However, he could hear the age in the man's tone and yet, he felt like the man had tons of energy in him still.

"Uh...," The guy quickly stood up and looked around once more, "I'm the only one here so I'll assume you're talking to me. Either that or you saw your own reflection in my eyes and called yourself a chosen one which would be extremely narcissistic."

"I'm referring to you. I was sent to your home to bring you here," A short, awkward silence filled the air as the guy looked around once.

"To a field?" He questioned.

"Not particularly. I was suppose to bring you to the Royal Castle, but after we bumped into one another, I had accidentally sent us to Slime Field."

"Slime Field?" Just as the guy spoke the name of where they were, sounds of splooshy hopping were rather close to them. In fact, there were multiple sounds of splooshiness, "Uh, those are slimes right?" The guy pointed over at a group of roundish creatures that hopped towards them.

"Yes! Quick Chosen One! We must escape the before they attack us!" The knight ran off but came back when he saw that the guy wasn't even scared, "Chosen One?"

"These things are just slimes right? How much trouble can they be?" One of the slimes got close and opened its mouth to reveal extremely sharp teeth and bit the guy in the shin.

"Chosen One!"

"You know, as sharp as those teeth look, they're only for show. They feel like water or rather something that's very dense. It just feels like some sort of liquidk. Its teeth instantly disappeared when it bit down. So if anything, it's just making my leg wet."

"What?"

"Go on and try. You can blame me if you get injured somehow," The guy, we'll just call him Chosen One for now, kicked the slime off his shin and looked over at the knight, "Just a hand then. Just try it."

"Uh...," The knight sighed and walked over to a slime, "If the Chosen One insists...," The knight nervously brought his hand up to one of the slimes and was practically shaking in fear. The slime bared its fangs and bit down, "Ah!"

"Did it hurt?"

"I-I-It doesn't hurt. In fact, it's sucking something."

"Hm...," The Chosen One saw some smaller particles coming off his hand and snapped his fingers, "They actually are feeding on something. It's not our hands or body parts. They're eating the dead skin off our body. So it basically helps our skin get smooth. Here, let me see your hand," The knight showed him his hand and he started to rub, "Yeah, feel your hand. It's extremely smooth."

The knight did as instructed and was pleasantly surprised, "Oh my, my hand is the smoothest its ever been. I see, so these slimes aren't hostile. They're just attracted to dead skin that lies on us."

"Yeah. If slimes are harvested properly and there is someway to extract their dead skin eating powers, it would be a wonderful way to generate income."

"You're right. Oh, I must inform the princess!" The knight walked off but stopped mid-walk.

"Uh, we're not near any castle so we can't inform this princess of yours. In fact, isn't it suppose to be a queen?"

"Uh, sadly, our queen has gone missing and the only one next in line is our young princess."

"No king or prince?"

"The queen's husband was killed not long before she went missing and they only gave birth to the young princess I've referenced."

"Ouch, must be a lot resting on that princess's shoulders. I feel bad for her. Wait, why am I brought here apart from being from some chosen one?"

"Well, I think it's better described when we get to the castle as all of your answers are there."

"Fine...," The Chosen One sighed as he began to think to himself,  _"I hope these answers are explained in a very simplistic way. I don't feel like analyzing too much on my apparent lore. Plus, I'm about to miss the first day of school. Damn it..."_

About an hour or so into their travels, they arrived at a massive gothic-like castle of some sort, "Whoa..."

"Surprised?"

"Without a doubt. This place is huge and looks amazing!" Both of them stared into the sky as the castle seemed to even pierce the sky itself.

"I'm glad you think so," The both of them looked down at a young teenage girl around the age of the Chosen One who smiled at the Chosen One specifically, "I see you were able to bring along the Chosen One from the Earth Realm."

"Yes, although we had not teleported to the right place, we had managed to arrive unscathed and with a fascinating idea that the Chosen One thought of."

"Really now? Well, why don't we discuss it inside. You must feel awkward not wearing any pants," The princess looked down at his legs before walking off.

The Chosen One glanced down as well and looked back up, "I knew I felt I breeze. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it was a custom of the Earth Realm..."

"Well it's not...," The both of them followed the princess in and he was met with a group of maids who undressed him and dressed him back up in a very fitting and stylish wardrobe, "As much as it felt weird to be touched by a bunch very lovely woman, I like this clothing."

"I'm glad you do. You don't find the color unfitting of your style?"

"Well, white is my favorite color so I find nothing wrong with it."

"Wonderful. Now, I'm sure you have plenty of questions for me calling you here."

"Uh, I did, but I think your knight here told me some of why I might be here. Well, he only told me that I was the 'Chosen One' and I can only assume what that means."

"I see. So he has hinted that you are indeed the Chosen One."

"Can I be told what that means?"

"Yes, please follow me. Ladislas, please prepare the Chosen One's equipment."

"Yes madam."

"Uh, equipment?"

"Yes. You will see when we're done. Follow me please," The princess walked off with the Chosen One having a look of confusion before following her.

They proceeded a massive hallway with multiple scriptures. Scriptures of someone who a lot like the Chosen One, "These scriptures look a lot like me..."

"That's right."

"But it must be a coincidence for me to look just like the man in those scriptures."

"Perhaps the resemblance between the two names won't be a coincidence."

"Huh?"

"Allow me to explain," The princess stopped in front of the first scripture and began to explain his presence, "Many, many years ago. A young, poor village girl strolled the stream near her village. He had been strolling on his way home before she was surrounded by bandits."

"No way! Who helped her?"

"Across the stream, a young man who had wielded a spear in his hand stood watching. Even though the girl was on the the other side of the stream, he had leaped across the massive stream with ease and moved in to save the girl. His feat was deemed inhuman as he cleared it without hassle. He had managed to fend off the bandits and saved the girl only gaining minor wounds."

"Really?" The Chosen One stared at the scripture that showed the heroic feat and stared in awe.

"The girl thanked him and brought him home so that her parents may care to his wounds. However, before they even arrived back home, his wounds magically healed. As if by some sort of miracle, his wounds were gone."

"Whoa..."

"The girl wanted to know more about this man, but once he rested at their home for the night, she awoke to find him gone. All that he left was an amulet with the name: Johnathan crested onto it. That same necklace, is one that you have," The princess looked down at the necklace around The Chosen One's neck. The name crested onto it: Johnny was bright as day.

"W-...," Too shocked to form sentences, he covered it and backed up, "Wait a second. This has to be a coincidence. Our names aren't even the same. Yeah they might be similar, but they're not the same. My father gave this to me before he let me go."

"What was your father's name?"

"John..."

"And your grandfather's?"

"Shaun...," The princess began to show him a linear bloodline. From Johnathan, to different other renditions of the name Johnathan. This leading to Shaun, his grandfather. John, his father... and now himself... Johnny.

"You're part of a bloodline of Chosen Ones. You are the current Chosen One as that's the reason your father gifted you that necklace. It is to signify the beginning of your journey as the Chosen One. Johnny, you are the Chosen One of our world, Iprionia."

"Uh..."

-Moments Later-

"Here you are milady," The knight from earlier, now known as Ladislas, handed the princess a set of armor.

"Now Johnny, this will be the armor you will wearing in your missions," Johnny, the princess, and Ladislas stood outside on a training field with Johnny having an expression of distaste.

"Wait a minute, you can't just throw me into the fray without giving me a chance to retort back. I need a chance to express my feelings about doing this."

"You have no say. Neither did your father and his father before. You are destined to defend Iprionia from the Darkness."

"Is that really the best name you could think of?"

"Your ancestors thought of it."

"I thought they would be smarter than that..."

"Johnny, you must live up to your ancestors and protect Iprionia."

"How come my father has never told me about this whole 'Darkness' crap? Why would he keep it from me?"

"Well, he was busy here. He had helped my parents with the current threat, but I see he wanted to pass it down to you."

"Why so early? I'm only 14. How can I make any difference here?"

"Your father and his father before started earlier than you. I guess he wanted to try and go as long as he could."

"He's 45. I guess he pushed himself hard in order to allow me to live a normal life. I assume he couldn't go any longer."

"Yes, most of your ancestors barely go past their late 30s. Your father pushed himself past his limit in order to give you a normal childhood."

"I guess it would make sense for me to try and take the reigns, but not once have I ever trained for something like this."

"Most of your current skills are inherited. Are there any defining abilities that seem inhuman?"

"Hm," Johnny thought hard and snapped his fingers, "Well, my dexterity and reaction time are practically inhuman."

"How inhuman?"

"Is there really a way to measure that?" Without warning, an arrow was shot in his direction and before it even reached him, Johnny dodged it with ease, "Again, how do we measure that?"

"Hm, volley!" The princess commanded. Out of nowhere, a massive volley of arrows blocked the sky. Johnny looked up with an uninterested face and disappeared from the spot he stood just before the arrows fell before appearing once again once the volley ended.

"So how do we measure my reaction time and my dexterity?"

"You're either really cocky or you're genuinely stupid," The princess stated, "Next, we'll see your dexterity," Two maids brought out a table with stones that had numbers on it, "Here we have stones different in size with numbers written on it. You'll need to properly order them their number and weight..."

"Done," Johnny stated, "It was quite simple. The stone's only differed in weight slightly, so determining where each went was a piece of cake. Anything else?"

"Hehe," The princess chuckled and nodded, "I think we have our answered. Now, we must determine your weapon of choice. Forgive me for asking, but what weapon are you most familiar with?"

"Hm," In front of Johnny was three sets of weapons. One of them being a regular iron sword that was pretty average in length. He picked it up and rubbed the blade's flat side and twirled it a little in his hand, "Uh...," He turned around and stared at the dummy behind him.

"You may test it as you'd like so you can see which is your preference."

"Hm," Johnny got into a fighting stance with his sword and glared at the practice dummy before charging at it. He sliced left and right before jumping and kicking it. Going back into another fighting stance. After strafing to the side, he twirled and sliced through the dummy and grabbed it before ripping the dummy out of the ground and slamming it.

"He's a natural," Spoke Ladislas.

"He's the Chosen One. He has to be a natural."

"Alright. I like it, but I don't think it's my preference. Hm," He put the sword back and looked at the last two weapons. They were both polearms. One was a long spear and the other was a halberd. He looked at the two and picked up both, "Spears are a calling to me. I don't even need to try it out. Spears are my definite preference," He picked up the spear and the necklace around him glowed which shocked him, "Whoa, what's happening?"

"Your necklace is reacting to your weapon choice. It's remembering your weapon choice and will allow your body to adapt better to wielding a spear."

"I see, that's interesting. Uh, so what's next?"

"Next is placing the armor on you."

"Whoa there princess. Armor is something we'll have to fix. That armor looks too heavy and constricting."

"Huh?"

"It might be traditional armor for the 'Chosen One', but I can already tell that I'll dislike armor."

"Well, we'll have to improvise some armor."

"Now that doesn't mean I won't wear armor. I'll still wear it, but I have some certain preferences."

"Like?"

"Well," Johnny took out his phone and showed it to them, "Wait, all of you know what this is right? This isn't like technology that you've never seen before?"

"No it is. Your father introduced us to these... smartphones, correct?" The princess partially asked.

"Yeah, so I assume you know that pictures can be taken with these and I have my armor preference saved on my phone as a picture," Johnny scrolled through and showed them a picture of someone from his video games, "You see how the armor isn't bulky or too flashy? It's covers his sternum and his shoulders along with some wrist and ankle guards. Nothing too bulky or constricting. Also, the pants are just normal cloth pants with this certain sash around it. Also, you can see that he wears no helmet. Although, I'll be find wearing a headband if you are to allow it."

"Oh, it's fine. I see. This armor set is doable. I'll inform the blacksmith and tailor immediately. May we have a form of this armor in someway?"

"Uh, hm. I doubt a printer is possible here. Ah-ha!" Johnny handed her the phone and smiled, "Just let him take the phone to them. I'll be fine without it. It's not like there's connection here..."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Besides, I'm sure you have more to tell me. So I really won't have time to do anything with it."

"Okay then. Ladislas, please hand this to the blacksmith and tailor immediately."

"Will do milady," Ladislas bowed and was off to deliver Johnny's armor preference.

Johnny stared at the princess with a smile which confused her, "What's wrong Johnny?"

"Well, you handle yourself so well. We look to be the same age and you look like you know how to handle yourself as an adult. It's quite impressive compared to me."

"Oh, I don't think so. You're handling yourself quite well."

"Well, I'm trying to present myself in a better light now that it's finally occurred to me that I have to try and actually do something about it. I'm the Chosen One. Although it's still hard for me to believe, I have to step into my new role and do something about. I have to present myself better here then I do back home on Earth because I'm a mess at home."

"How so?"

"Like today, I woke up late for school. If anything, I wouldn't be here if I was actually on time. It's because I was late I'm here. I'm a mess. My bedroom, my house... everything about me is a mess and I do nothing about it because I sort of accepted my messy life."

"You can do something about it now."

"I know. That begins today. This day will start a new beginning for me. From here on out, I will now devote my life to making myself a better person and protecting... uh... what's the name of this place again?"

"Iprionia."

"That place! After I learn the name of it! I will do what I can to protect all of you. By the way Princess," Johnny looked at her and asked, "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for not even introducing myself earlier. My name is Alicia Alicott. Current Princess of Iprionia and I guess the interim Queen as well."

"That's right. Both your parents have mysteriously vanished."

"Correct. In fact, it happened right after your father stepped down as Iprionia's defender."

"I would assume it was the 'Darkness' that has captured them somehow. They must know that someone like my father who was the past Chosen One stepped down."

"That's right. When a Chosen One is on Iprionia, it helps bring balance to our world. People know the power of a Chosen One and will not try anything unless the Chosen One is somehow killed or steps down."

"Has any Chosen Ones died since their conception?"

"Not to our knowledge. Very few of them inform my kingdom that they're stepping down. Most of them just vanish."

"Vanish?"

"Yes, they just up and disappear without warning."

"Hm..."

"Strange isn't it?"

"Yeah. Has nobody investigated their disappearances?"

"No. Nobody can investigate when there's no clues to work off of."

"You said that no Chosen One has gone as long as my father, correct?"

"Yes. Most go until their late 30s due to the strain on their well-beings."

"Hm, it seems whoever is causing their disappearances tries to get them early in an attempt to take them out early. How many out of my lineage has just upped and vanished?"

"Around 80% of them has vanished. The rest stepped down like your father."

"Were there any patterns in terms of their skills? Anything definitive about their abilities that would cause something or someone to target them specifically?"

"Uh..."

"If it's too loaded a question to answer don't strain yourself answering. It's something to be thought about rather than for it to be asked on the spot."

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I can't provide anymore information on this matter."

"It's fine. I'm sure I'll ask my father about his as well. I'm sure he has some questions that needs answers."

"Very well then."

"Well, Princess Alicia. I guess we have some time to kill while my armor is being prepared. Does your blacksmith and tailor work fast?"

"Yes, they work fast in order to compete with one another."

"Siblings?"

"Yes. They're twins, so almost everything they do is a competition."

"Hopefully they're not girls who end up falling for me."

"I doubt it. Come on, let's go visit them."

"Uh, okay?"

The both of them walked to the blacksmith and tailor to hear arguing, "You stay off my side sis! I need to make sure the Chosen One's armor is pristine! I can't do that if you keep purposely bumping into me!"

"It would work if you didn't put my equipment on your side!"

"They sound charming," Johnny stated as both himself and Alicia stood in the door way hearing the blacksmith and tailor arguing with one another.

"Quite. Girls!"

"Ah! My queen!" Out stood out two girls that looked slightly older than them. Both of them looked similar in looks. Both had young faces that was supported with light blue hair. Except the one on the left had her hair in a ponytail while the other kept their hair down, "And the Chosen One!" Both of them bowed to Johnny who was very shocked.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, I'm not used to anyone ever bowing to me."

"Girls, it's fine. You're actually making Johnny feel awkward here."

"Oh, sorry. Madoka didn't intend for us to do that," The girl with the ponytail responded. The girl with her hair down glared at her.

"What my sister meant to say was that Ladoka didn't mean for us to bow and make him awkward."

"Me? You bowed first!"

"I did not bow first!"

"Actually," Johnny interrupted, "you bowed just half a second faster than your sister," Johnny pointed at the girl with the ponytail, Ladoka, and smiled, "But please, don't fight over something so ridiculous."

"Fine... we're sorry..."

"Wow. Usually I'm the only one to deescalate their arguments. I'm impressed."

"Would that be a quality that Chosen Ones have?"

"I don't think so, but I'm sure it's one of your qualities."

"I'm doubt it."

"Hehe. Anyway, I was just showing him the two working on his armor and weapon. He enjoys the clothing he has right now so I hope you two can do the same for his armor."

"We will! In fact, this armor is easy. Quite stylish too. I'm sure we can finish it within the next hour."

"Wow, they work fast."

"Nothing a little magic can't do to speed their process up."

"Magic? That exists here?"

"A little, yes. Only a select few can handle and learn magic. Not everybody can learn or even handle magic. It's normally due to bad genetics."

"Well, since my genetics are one of a kind, could I learn magic?"

"You should already have some implanted into your memory."

"Well, my memory has never told me about magic."

"I'm sure we can jog your memory about magic. I believe your father started the same as you. Don't worry."

"I will probably worry if I don't remember any before big fights."

"We'll do what we can. Don't worry Johnny."

"I'm sure you will milady. Actually," The two of them left the girls to their work while Johnny decided to ask, "will I be able to return home at will?"

"You will, in fact...," Before Alicia could finish her answer, a large rumble shook their feet.

"What was that?"

"The Darkness..."

"What?!" The rumbles continued. Growing in ferocity each second that passed, "Now?"

"This is bad. Our army is still recovering from the last attack."

"They probably wanted to attack while you were all down. If we really aren't prepared for an assault like this, we can kiss our future goodbye. Do we have anything that could possibly push them back apart from me."

"We can definitely try some of our siege weapons, but we need to prepare them. Before that, we have to gather the villagers and bring them to safety. We need to buy some time in order to do that."

"Well, why don't I do that?"

"What?"

"Hear me out. The drawbridge that connects to the castle is the only chokepoint between them and everyone inside those castle walls. If I can hold them back past that chokepoint for however long you need, then we won't have to worry about anyone getting past those walls."

"But are you sure you can do it?"

"No. Definitely not, but it doesn't hurt to try you know?"

"Johnny, you armor isn't even ready and your weapon won't be able to push itself that long."

"I'll be fine," Just as Johnny was ready to head out, the twins arrived with armor for Johnny.

"Hold on Chosen One! Before you head out, we have some temporary armor. It should be able to stop arrows and smaller arms. Don't get too crazy though."

"Thank you girls. I'll try my best to hold them back as long as I can. In the mean time, prepare whatever siege weapons you have to push them back."

Outside the castle, a large army stood outside the castle. It was easily over 100,000 men. The one leading was someone who wore dark armor along with a horse was also donning dark armor, "Sir, our troops are ready to move in on the castle," A soldier reported.

"Good. They haven't recovered yet. This will be a pristine time to take out that foolish princess. Go! The Kingdom of Iprionia will fall to the Darkness!"

Outside on the drawbridge stood Johnny alone without any backup. Just himself. Johnny looked at the massive army in front of him and was starting to have second guesses about what he signed up for, "Maybe it would've been nice to have at least a few other people with me. Like at least a hundred..."

The soldiers stood back when they saw him almost like they were scared, "Uh?" Johnny didn't notice and neither did those inside the castle walls that he was emanating some sort of powerful aura. Only one that a Chosen One could do.

Some stood back while some charged Johnny, "Oh well, here we go!" And with that, Johnny charged in.

Meanwhile, back at his home, a slightly younger girl, possibly a month or two younger than Johnny ran in the direction of Johnny's house, "He wasn't at school! He overslept!" She yelled, "Johnny! You're in trouble!" However, her speed slowed when she saw that his door was still open along with his backpack on the ground.

She picked it up and checked inside, "Everything is still here. His door is open...," She paused at that fact and step back slightly, "That means whoever did this might still be inside. Come on, you gotta have something in here to protect me...," She started to rummage through his back and couldn't find anything, "Damn it, your bag is so useless..."

She took a deep breath and peaked inside, "They haven't heard me hopefully. So maybe I'll have the art of surprise...," The girl carefully stepped inside and looked around for something to defend herself with, "Come on... a broom...," A broom stood on a nearby wall and she moved picked it up.

She slowly made her way towards Johnny's bedroom. She tip-toed towards it before jumping out in a stance similar to her brother with a spear yelling, "Hiya!" However, she found nothing. She decided to cautiously look around for Johnny, but came up with nothing.

"What's going on?" The girl took a seat on Johnny's bed and sighed, "Where'd you go big bro..."

Meanwhile, in Iprionia, the dark figure on the horse was frustrated at their troops, "What are you doing! This is not a battle we should be losing!"

"One of the princess's men has taken position on the drawbridge sir!"

"Hm, he doesn't seem familiar..."

"There is some speculation that he is the next chosen one."

"Hmph, chosen one or not, he's still young. Keep pushing him! Use our superior numbers to crush him!" The men charged at Johnny who looked and stood with confidence but he knew it was a facade.

"That's a lot of people," Johnny muttered, "Oh well, hopefully my powers activate or something...," The soldiers were already on him, but the first few that charged him were instantly killed by Johnny, "Oh..."

They were knocked back severely near the other remaining soldiers and they began to cower in fear, "Hm...," The dark figure was rather impressed with Johnny as he continued to watch.

Meanwhile within the walls of the castle, Alicia's army was helping civilians retreat to the safer parts of the castle while others setup siege weapons, "Hurry! We're not sure how long the Chosen One has!" Ladislas ordered.

"Ladislas," Alicia uttered in awe, "I think you should see this...," Ladislas walked over to the where Alicia was on the castle wall and he too was astonished. They were watching Johnny single-handily holding back the troops. He took out groups of soldiers with ease, "And he's only a young teen. Having little to no combat experience..."

"It's because he's the chosen one milady."

Once Johnny took out another group, a much larger group stood back as Johnny slammed the but end of his spear into the ground, "I am the Chosen One! Those who wish to cross the bridge can try if they must! Just know that the toll for passage is your death! Those who think they can try to cross... step forward!" Johnny started to twirl his spear in front of him causing a massive whirlwind to form in front of him.

The whirlwind soon grew into an tornado that protruded from his spear capturing those in its path and sending them flying far. Bodies fell near the dark figure as he turned his horse around, "There's no need to waste men here. We'll return with more men and stronger warriors. We'll take down that Chosen One and soon, the land of Iprionia will be ours."

The dark figure and some of their personal men turned to fall back as the rest of the men continued to push him regardless of their leader falling back.

Everyone was astonished at Johnny's skill including Johnny himself. Johnny had zero combat training in his life and had a very small athletic background. In fact, this is the first physical altercation Johnny has faced and he's dominating the competition. All he had to count on was his reaction time and dexterity. Was it really in his blood?

Johnny looked at his spear and at the cowering enemies in front of him. He smirked and yelled, "Bring it on! I'll take on anyone!"

Just as he said this, large boulders fell from the sky, crushing enemies beneath them. Johnny stepped back and looked towards where they came from and nodded, "Yes!" He cheered. He continued to sigh in relief as he calmly walked back into the castle.

The enemies started to flee as he did so. He placed his spear across the back of his neck and rest his arms on the rod of the spear while walking, "That wasn't hard in slightest but it sure as hell was exhausting."

When he stepped foot into castle courtyard, he was met with resounding applause from everyone. Johnny made sure to savour the moment as he was cheered and hailed as a hero.

"Hehe, I think someone like me can get used to this," Johnny was soon confronted by Alicia who was pleasantly surprised at Johnny's powers, "So, did I perform well?"

"You exceeded expectations Johnny. You are definitely worthy of your chosen one title."

"To be honest, everything I did just felt natural. Something just clicked in my body when I started fending off the Darkness. It just felt like a second nature to me. However, I do believe I still have much more to learn."

"Yes. Even as a Chosen One, you must perfect your craft and know the right time to use your abilities."

"I know. Perhaps I have something in my home that can somehow assist in doing that."

"I'm sure you father left something else apart from your necklace."

"Hopefully," Johnny looked around as he held his spear and turned to Alicia, "my skills are something people will want. Are there are other forces out there apart from Iprionia and the Darkness?"

"Other than the Darkness, there are 4 regional lands controlled by warlords surrounding Iprionia. With Iprionia working as the catalyst to keep everyone together. However, when the Darkness showed up many centuries ago, tensions rose between the 4 regional lands."

"Do they feel as if they should rule the land to stop the Darkness or is something much greater?"

"It's the fact that the Darkness has yet to be stopped and Iprionia is on its last legs. The regional warlords know it's only a matter of time before bonds break and the warlords begin to fight amongst one another leaving Irpionia and themselves open for attacks."

"It sounds like they just need a little bit of diplomacy. I'm sure I know someone who can help with that..."

"Please do so. It is much too dangerous for each warlord to fight amongst each other when there is a much greater threat to our safety and freedom."

"I'll make sure nothing will happen to Iprionia or this world while keeping my own world out of the fray. I don't know what this land is capable of and the last thing I want is my high school life to get roped into this whole fiasco."

"We promise it won't reach the Earth Realm."

"Thank you Alicia," Johnny was about to say something else, but the twins ran up with a new spear and his armor, "Oh, it's ready?"

"Yes!" They respond in unison.

"Thank you," Johnny looked at his current armor and the spear in his hands and sighed, "Just hand them to me and I'll put them away at my home. By the way, Alicia," He turned to Alicia and took a deep breath, "How do I get home?!"

"Eh?" Alicia questioned.

Moments later, Johnny followed Alicia up to top of the castle to a large fountain like area. In the middle, was something that obviously looked like somewhere that would help him go back home, "So is this place gonna get me back home?"

"It should. We will always warn you just in case we need you here in Iprionia."

"How?" Alicia pointed at his necklace and smiled, "My necklace?"

"Yes. It's connected with the current ruler. All I need to do is notify you through your necklace and you'll just need to respond back before I send you back here."

"How do I do that?"

"It responds to your mind. Whatever you think will deliver the message to me."

"That is completely science fiction, but judging by how I'm here won't have me question it," Johnny stretched his shoulder and walked in the middle of the room, "I'm ready."

"Alright, you'll feel a light jolt and a bright flash before you find yourself where you were before you were teleported to Iprionia. However, when we do call for you, make sure nobody is near you, or they'll be sent here with you."

"Got it," However, in the back of his mind, he knew that was something that would happen eventually.

"Alright, sending you back. See you soon Chosen One..."

"Uh, please, tell everyone just to call me Johnny. Okay Princess Alicia?"

"I will. As long as you call me just Alicia."

"Okay, Just Alicia."

"You know what I mean...," Alicia puffed her cheeks out before smiling at Johnny, "Thank you Johnny. I know you'll do what you can to protect Irpionia."

"I will Alicia. I'll protect Irpionia just as father and his father before had done. By the way, Alicia, what's this small octagon indent on my..." Before Johnny could finish his question, he was teleported away, "Whoa!"

"Uh oh, I guess the teleport happened faster than I anticipated...," Alicia softly stated as she watch the spot Johnny was just standing in, "He also has the equipment we gave him. Will his closet be large enough to fit such items?"

Moments later, back on Earth, Johnny was sent back to the front door he was just at. He looked around and at his body, "Oh, the armor and stuff. I forgot about that...," He looked behind him and sighed, "Oh well, I don't think anyone is home," He jiggled the knob and found it to be unlocked, "Oh right, I didn't get a chance to lock it because Ladislas teleported me to Iprionia..."

He walked in and closed the door behind him. He saw another bag beside his own book bag that was opened, "That bag looks familiar...," It clicked in his mind as he ran to his room, "Jeanne...," He ran to see the same younger girl sleeping in his bed, "Jeanne?" He slowly walked up to the girl, now known as Jeanne, "Hm, I can change out of all this and put this up before she notices me. I can't let her see any of this..."

He slowly walked to his closet and placed both spears inside along with the armor the twins made. He slowly began to take off his armor and placing it with everything else, "Okay, just gotta change out of the garb into something to sleep in..."

He quietly grabbed a pair of shorts and boxers before slowly stepping out of the room, "I'll let you have the bed today sis. You've must've been worried sick...," He quickly, but quietly moved out of the room and dressed out of the garb and into the boxers and shorts. He walked into the living room and looked at the couch, "Well, no different than before...," He plopped onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.

He looked at his necklace as it started to dimly light itself, "Is she trying to say something?" It was glowing blue, "Blue has to mean something...," He sat up and saw something else glow on the mantle above the fireplace, "Hm. You're directing me to something Alicia...," He walked to the mantel and looked inside the box that held his necklace earlier that day.

It was small disc. An octagonal disc, "Uh? What's important about this Alicia?"

In Johnny's room, Jeanne was waking up as his closet door started to shake vigorously, "Huh?" It started to get more rough as she hid underneath his blanket, "What's going on...?"

In his hands, the disc reacted to his necklace, "Uh...?" It soon broke apart and surrounded him, "This would've been nice to know before hand Alicia!"

Jeanne jumped up when he heard Johnny, "Big bro?" Jeanne jumped up and ran to his doorway to peak out, "Johnny?"

Johnny didn't feel any pain. In fact, he felt powered. A blue aura surrounded his body as the armor from his closet shot out and went to him. They set perfectly in the air in front of him where each armor part should be.

His garb replaced the shorts followed by his gauntlets, then his leg guards, followed by his chest piece. Lastly, the sash he had requested wrapped around his hip. His spear floated next to him and he looked at it. He grabbed it as the aura disappeared with a massive blast of energy. The blast shook the house and set off car alarms around the neighborhood.

"Oh man...," As he spoke those two words, the disc was put back together and placed right where the indent was, "I should've assumed that when I saw the disc."

Behind him, his sister hid inside his room, shocked at what just happened, "Has he finally...?"


	2. Prologue Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is a multi-part prologue. I didn't expect it to stretch out so much, but for added drama between the 3 heroes must be done along with their high school lives. I mean, they are high schoolers. Plus, it'll make for good flashback references in the future. Anyway, enjoy the story and be sure to say what you like or don't like about it. Make it constructive. Constructive criticism is always good!

That next morning, Johnny was up early doing some push ups while staring at the octagonal disc that caused the ruckus last night, "You're not a book, but you're definitely magical in some way. I wish I could take you to school, but you're too big and heavy to carry around," Almost as if responding to his request, the disc flashed and turned into a tiny disc rather than it's other massive counterpart.

Johnny stopped his push ups to pick it up and sighed, "I didn't think it would actually change itself. This is just getting a little too cliché."

"Johnny...," Jeanne walked from outside his bathroom causing Johnny to put the device on, "You should get ready."

"I will. Just go ahead and head off to the car. I just gotta put a shirt, some jogging pants, and shoes on."

"What about a jacket?"

"It's 80 degrees out there. Don't be ridiculous."

"But it might get cold randomly!"

"Just wait in the car!" Johnny firmly ordered as he walked into his room. He slowly opened his closet to reveal his sets of armor and spears in front of his actual clothes. I should really do something about this when she heads back home with dad..."

In the car, Jeanne stared at the same necklace Johnny had that was given to her by her aunt before she passed away 3 years ago, "Our aunt gave this to me before she passed. I never understood it and grew weary of it when it started to glow just a few weeks after she gave it to me..."

However, she always kept it close in her bag. When Johnny walked out the house, she hid it away before he could see it. He locked the door and went over to the car, "I still think it's weird you're able to drive Johnny..."

"Me too. I'm not suppose to have a learner's permit until I'm 15."

"Huh?" Before Jeanne could question it further, Johnny backed out of the driveway and was already off to school. Jeanne stared at her brother and sighed.

_My brother. Johnny One. The next in line to protect Iprionia. Our family specifically kept him out of the loop so that he could focus on school, but I guess both our dad and aunt just couldn't keep up into their 40s. Our aunt, passed away only at the age of 38 and now I'm next in line to be one of the 2 heroes that helps the Chosen One in quelling the Darkness._

_Hi, I'm Jeanne One. I'm the younger sister of Johnny One and the next in line to be the Chosen One's companion. I'm not that much younger. I'm only young by a month or two. That's why we're in the same graduation class. However, my life changed when I was 11 years old. That's when I first found out about Iprionia._

_I was told that I would be accompanying my brother on his mission to protect this alternate world. I had no idea what it meant until our whole origin was explained. Here's the short version:_

_Basically, our ancestors connected to Johnny on his side are Chosen Warriors to defend Iprionia from an impeding doom and they are known to have inhuman powers like nobody has ever seen before. This explains Johnny's inhuman reaction time and dexterity. He has none anyone has seen before._

_Secondly, fighting is in our blood. We don't exactly yearn to fight, but we so proficient in fighting that we rarely have to train to out combat our enemies. This doesn't even mention the special powers that Chosen One's get based on their choice of weapons. My brother chose a spear with the element of Wind choosing. Yes, there is an element base in all of this._

_The three heroes all have a certain element choose them based on their affinity. My brother's element is Wind while mine is Electricity. I do not know who our third hero is, so I can't determine what their element is._

_Each hero also has one defining ability that the other heroes can't perform. My ability is Keen Eye. This allows me to see through trees and traces of life. This helps me find spies or spot out ambushes. I have no idea what my brother has or the third companion._

_I've_ _been to Irpionia a few times in the last few months since_ _I_ _found out my brother began to live on his own and our father_ _officially_ _moved on as the_ _Chosen_ _One._

_After seeing my brother accept his job last night with that disc, I now know it's my time to step up and join him..._

When they arrived at school, they both stepped out to see a crowd of students surrounding someone, "What's going on?" Johnny questioned.

"If you were here yesterday you would know. They're surrounding one of the sophomores."

"Who?"

"Her name is Brittany Smith. Her family is your typical rich family. She dresses rich and comes riding in style. See that Ferrari over there? That's her Ferrari," Johnny looked over at a white Ferrari 488 Spider.

"Whew, that thing's a beauty," Johnny practically gawked at the car while his sister tried to snap him back into reality.

"Yo, Johnny. We have to head onto class."

"O-Oh... right...," Johnny walked towards the front doors of the school while staring at the foreign sports car. Johnny didn't notice he was about to walk into the door before he walked smacked right into it, "Ow...," Johnny rubbed his face as students around him started laughing at him.

"Ha, the new kid doesn't know how to walk right! Hahaha!" Someone wearing a leather jacket shouted.

"Damn, they really have jocks like that in high school. I thought that was just a TV myth...," Johnny fixed himself as he looked over at Brittany who looked over at him in distaste. However, he saw that she wasn't looking at him specifcally, but at the necklace around his neck, "Why are you staring at my necklace you posh-girl...," Johnny softly asked as he grabbed his necklace and stared at it, "Hopefully Alicia doesn't call for me while I'm in school..."

Johnny looked back up to see that Brittany was now gone. Jeanne however looked at him closely while thinking about the glare Brittany gave her brother, "So she's the third..."

Later that day in class, Johnny was already off day dreaming during a lecture. All he could think about was Iprionia. He was also thinking about that Ferrari outside. A large book was slammed on his desk to snap his trance, "Huh?!" Soft chuckles from other students filled the room as Johnny looked around daze.

His sister sitting near the door could only look on in embarrassment for her brother, "Since it seems you enjoy daydreaming all day Mr. One, why don't you read the next passage."

"Passage. Right. Passage... passage... I know there's a...," Johnny fell silent as he looked around his desk, "Where's my book?" The teacher proceeded to pick up his book and slammed it back down on his desk, "There it is.Now read."

"Uh...," Johnny looked over at his sister who mouthed the number 56, "Right," Almost insantly, Johnny turned to that page and started reading much to the teacher's surprise, "The first accounts of counting dates back many, many centuries ago. Nearly 20,000 years ago, a bone simply known as the Tshango Bone was found in the Congos. This is the earliest record of counting in human history."

"Very well done Mr. One. Now, let us continue on to the next page," Johnny slumped back in his seat and looked over at his sister as both sighed in immediate relief. He mouthed the words thank you causing her to smile.

Later that day at lunch, Johnny and his sister looked at the massive lunch room in which was obviously separated into different cliques, "Where will we sit today sis..."

"You mean where will  _you_  sit. I already have my clique."

"Huh?"

"I have my group of friends from the soccer team."

"Can't I sit with you?"

"I don't know. Those girls get weird when near a boy and when I told them about you they were just ready to pounce on you. Just find somewhere else to sit. I'll see you after lunch," His sister walked off leaving him alone.

"And now my sister abandons me. Well, where to sit...," Johnny saw a table of 3 open where the patrons of the table were obvious outsiders, "Hopefully they're not the weird outsiders," Before he could even walk, he was tripped by a large foot beneath him. He tripped, but caught himself. He performed a forward handspring and looked behind him.

"What the hell? You're suppose to fall," It was the same jock who had mocked him earlier that day.

"Technically I did fall, I just didn't fall face first. I caught myself big guy."

"Well, fall and make us laugh," He tried to push him again, but Johnny dodged his massive linebacker like hands, "Huh?"

"Dude, I wanna go find a table," Johnny held his hand up as he backed up.

"Here's one right here!" He tried to grab Johnny's head, but Johnny quickly dodged causing him to knock someone else's head into his tray of food.

"Ouch, looks like you made a slight mistake."

"Hey man! What the hell is up with you?" It was one of the boy's soccer players, "You gotta problem big guy?" The soccer player pushed him back into a chair.

"I ain't got beef with you man."

"Oh yeah? Why did you put your hands on me?"

"You two look like you have some business to attend to. Allow me to head on my way," Johnny walked off as the soccer player threw a punch initiating a fight. He walked towards the table of outsiders as his sister watched on in disappointment. Brittany, after getting out of the way of the fight stared at Johnny with a massive look of disdain.

Johnny took a seat with the outsiders and greeted them, "What's up guys. The name's Johnny One."

"We know," The darker skinned male student of the three responded, "We're in your class."

"Really? Man, I've been daydreaming too much."

"Ah, don't worry about it," A girl with pigtails and large glasses responded, "Nobody has really noticed us. I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah, we wouldn't have been able to handle that situation," The white skinned student added, "How were you able to dodge him and flip like that? It was like a video game!"

"It's just in my blood," Johnny softly chuckled as these three reminded him of his times in middle school with a group of outsiders. He might've been outsiders, but he was always close to his cliques.

"Well, it's nice to meet you officially Johnny. You can call me Daniel," The dark skinned student answered.

"I'm Pam. Sorry about the massive nerdy glasses...," The female student shyly responded.

"Don't worry about it. I've known a few people who had glasses much larger than those surprisingly. Don't bug yourself about them. They fit you well."

"T-Thank you..."

"Haha, you're always like that when someone that's not us compliments you. Well, I'm Luke. I'm the otaku of the group."

"So you like anime and video games, right?"

"Yeah. More like love, but..."

"Not on the level of a weeaboo," Before Luke could finish his sentence, Johnny finished it for him.

"Wow, how'd you know I was gonna say that."

"I had a friend like you. In fact, my old friends that go to a different school are almost like all of you except they were all otakus."

"Wow. You must've had it rough."

"No, that group was awesome. They were just socially awkward. I'm sure that's the case with all of you," While Johnny was talking to his new found friends, his sister and Brittany watched him carefully.

"Yeah, it's hard for us to properly talk to anyone...," Daniel answer. However, in the middle of his sentence, the three of them saw Johnny's necklace glow blue, "Uh, Johnny, your necklace is glowing. Does it usually do that?"

"Uh, one moment," Johnny ran off with Jeanne and Brittany staring at their own necklaces. The two looked over at one another and glared at each other before doing the same as Johnny.

"J! Where are you going?" One of Jeanne's teammates asked.

"Uh, just using the bathroom right quick."

"Oh, hurry back!"

"Brittany girl, where are ya' going? Heading off to find that chump that got Luther in trouble?" One of the other jocks asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"No, just have to go powder my nose."

"Oh, well hurry back. We have to think of a way to get back at that dick...," Brittany chuckled lightly as she ran off.

The three of them went to three different bathrooms as the two stared at their necklaces. Both Jeanne and Brittany instantly teleported themselves to Iprionia while Johnny sat in the stall wondering what the hell to do.

"Uh, what hell do I work this thing? Uh, teleport!" He yelled, "Uh. Go, go gadget teleporter! Off to Iprionia!" No matter what he did or yelled, he wasn't being sent to Iprionia, "I wish her instructions were a little more clear..."

_"It's connected with the current ruler. All I need to do is notify you through your necklace and you'll just need to respond back before I send you back here. It responds to your mind. Whatever you think will deliver the message to me."_

"Uh," Johnny began to think hard and in his mind he said,  _"Alicia, I am ready to head off to Iprionia!"_  Almost instantly, he was teleported to the same fountain he was teleported from last night, "Huh? It worked!" Johnny looked around too see Alicia with 2 other people. Both of them very recognizable to him, "Uh..."

"It's about time you showed up!" The one to the left of Alicia, Brittany Smith, "I know you're very incompetent, but come on. You're the Chosen One. At least show that you are."

"Brittany please don't insult him that way...," Alicia pleased, "Johnny, you should've really remembered what Princess Alicia told you when she sent you back home."

"Uh..."

"And now I know that  _she_  didn't tell you that the Chosen One has 2 companions at his side," Jeanne looked over at Alicia who chuckled nervously.

"In my defense, we were attacked before I could explain any further."

"I know of the attack," Brittany interrupted, "I watched from afar and Johnny..."

"Uh, Brittany..."

"You're strong, I'll give you that, but you have no clue about what you're doing."

"You are very correct about that."

"Brittany, don't berate my brother. All of his skills are practically given to him on a silver platter. There would be no way that he could get any better."

"He could know how to use his abilities."

"First of all, how are you one of his companions?" Jeanne questioned, "The last time I checked, you were the girl at school that was too good to do anything athletic. You didn't want to get your hands dirty."

"It's called acting sweetie. Try and learn about acting. It might help you here in Iprionia."

"Listen here blondy, I won't work with you if you're just gonna insult us and not work as a team player!"

"That makes two of us!"

The both of them turned away from each other while Alicia and Johnny watched on, "I like how that went to talking about me to them talking about each other."

"What kind of tensions do the three of you have?"

"I have no idea. I would assume my sister doesn't like Brittany because of her persona in our realm. Brittany doesn't like me because of my incompetence which I do agree on."

"This won't work if the three of you don't work together."

"Then get someone other than her!" Both Jeanne and Brittany yell at the top of their lungs.

"Wow, those two are definitely gonna need to work together. So uh," Johnny clapped his hands together and turned to Alicia, "why did you call us here?"

"We have the Darkness raiding a nearby village. You must rescue them heroes," Alicia pleaded, "They won't last much longer."

"We're on it. How far?" Johnny looked at his body and touched the gem of his necklace causing his armor and weapon to magically form. The disc appeared in front of him and sparked slightly causing both Jeanne and Brittany to watch it closely.

"You can do that, but you couldn't figure out how to teleport?" Brittany further questioned.

"I did it last night, so I just it was that easy. Anyway, let's go!" Johnny jumped off the castle and slid down the side of it.

"He's either really stupid or really crazy.," Alicia questioned.

"Both...," Jeanne and Brittany answered. Both of them glared at each other once again and jumped after him.

"Whoo-hoo!" Johnny cheered as he slid onto a horse and was off to the village. Jeanne and Brittany both got onto their horses and followed after him.

"I didn't even tell them how far it was... or where it was."

"Johnny!" Jeanne yelled, "We have to discuss our strategy!"

"What strategy?! We're 3 powerful warriors. We just go in and do our job!"

"Like I said, incompetent!"

"At least he can back it up. What can you do with those tonfas?"

"Look at you two. Matching like losers. What's up with you two and using spears?"

"They have more range than your stupid tonfas!"

"They're better than using spears!"

"Girls, shut it! If we're going to work together, we'll have to learn how to deal with each other. Look, I know we don't have a plan. So for now, Brittany, I need you to save and round up the villagers. Afterwards, extract them from the village and retreat to a safe area. Jeanne, you will be a decoy and charge them down the middle. Gain their attention towards the village main yard. I will move around for a pincer attack."

"Will that work?" Jeanne questioned.

"No clue. Just thought of it on the spot. Remember, Brittany, you save the villagers and Jeanne, act as the decoy. Look, this will be our first test as a team. Even if we haven't done much together, this is a good first test. Afterwards, we'll have to talk."

"Fine...," Both Jeanne and Brittany respond.

Moments later, they saw the village over the hill and it was already under attack with multiple clouds of smoke rose from the village, "Remember the plan girls. Let's go!" Johnny turned around and went off to take his position for the pincer attack.

"Don't screw up Blondy."

"Don't screw up uh..."

"That's why you can't figure out a name!" Jeanne rode off ahead and Brittany grunted before following her.

"I'll figure one out!"

"Make it original Blondy!"

Meanwhile, Johnny rode around the enemy's main army and decided to see the size of the army, "Hm, I see at most 50,000. So many troops on such a small village. Why do they need so many?" Johnny began to observe the enemies movements and noticed that they're just, "They're mostly just cavalry and heavy troops. Shock tactic. If they really think this is something that will cause us to pull back then think again...," Johnny turned towards the middle of the army and charged down at them. However, on a nearby path close to the army pushing the village was a smaller army dressed in the uniforms of the Iprionian army was sent around to attack the fleeing villagers. 

Meanwhile, Jeanne was fending off the attacking troops from the front, "Where are you Johnny? There's no way I'm gonna be able to fight them off forever..."

Close by, Brittany was helping escort the villagers out of the village, "Come on everyone! The Chosen One and our companion will prevent the Darkness from pushing!"

"Look!" One of the villagers pointed out, "The Iprionian Army! They're coming to save us!"

"Huh? The princess didn't want to send her army to defend or plan for it. Why is she sending such a small force?" Brittany looked closer and saw that who were really coming were an army of Darkness soldiers, "Wait!" However, before she could warn the villagers running over to them, a large volley of arrows filled the air as it came down on the villagers, "No!"

Johnny and Jeanne looked over towards the volley and freaked out, "Oh no!" The both of them tried to go back to assist Brittany and the villagers, but they were instantly surrounded by other Darkness soldiers.

"This was their plan...," Johnny softly stated, "A holding attack. No wonder they weren't pushing with all their might and only with strong arms. They wanted to split us up and stay on the defensive while another smaller force breaks off to cut away our only escape point. I'm more impressed with these people than I thought. Haha... man, I sound like a legit strategist," Johnny spoke as he was taking out soldier after soldier with ease.

Jeanne, who had been pushed back to Brittany's position knew that they were in some deep trouble, "Well, so much for that pincer attack...," Brittany started, "We need to cut open a path for the people."

"Kinda hard when we're missing the only person that can handle large forces like this..."

"I'm sure the two of us can do something. What is that? Like 500-1000? Easy for us two."

"I hope you trained well with those tonfas."

"I've trained as the Chosen One's companion for 3 years. I think I can handle it."

"Well, at least I'll know you have experience. My brother..."

"He'll have to rely on what he's inherited. That should be enough...," A large blue cylinder-like vortex formed not far from their position as a massive explosion followed it. Afterwards, multiple bodies and body parts of Darkness soldiers began falling from the air.

"What was that...? Jeanne questioned. Brittany just looked on as she saw a body amongst those. Although, the body was still alive. It was Johnny who was in the air as he stared down at them while giving them a thumbs up.

Johnny landed back as the carnage surrounded him. He was nearly covered in blood as he turned towards them. He jumped in place slightly as he looked at his feet while shaking off some blood, "I wonder if I have super speed or something...," Johnny keeled back and sprinted forward. He wasn't going fast, but he was pretty fast, "Meh, it's fast..."

He ran around in the village until he saw Jeanne and Brittany, "Yo!" He yelled over to them. Jeanne finished off her group while Brittany protected a villager from another group of soldiers.

"Johnny!" Jeanne yelled as she ran over to him.

"Ah! The Chosen One!" One of the Darkness soldiers yelled, "We'll be killed if we stay here! Retreat!" The soldiers began to scatter.

One of the soldiers Brittany was about to kill ran off before she had the chance. She turned around to see Johnny surrounded by the villagers cheering him on with his sister beside him. She scoffed at them and started to walk off. She touched her necklace and teleported away. Johnny noticed this and chuckled.

Johnny and Jeanne returned to Alicia without Brittany and Alicia was happy to see them, "I heard that the extracting the villagers apart from a few casualties. Also, where is Brittany?"

"She teleported back to Earth," Johnny started, "I thought we had to be at the fountain to teleport back."

"You didn't tell him Princess Alicia?" Jeanne questioned.

"Hehe...," Alicia chuckled nervously as Jeanned sighed.

"You can teleport to and from Iprionia at will. You don't have to be at the fountain to teleport away. All you gotta do is hold 2 fingers over the gem on your necklace."

"That would've been nice to know. I would come here everyday if I had known that earlier..."

"Really?!" Alicia's eyes lit up as she looked at Johnny, "Well, you can teleport here whenever you want. Fill free to come here as you please!" Alicia shot an extremely bright smile at Johnny as she looked at him.

"Alright...," Johnny backed up with a forced smile as Alicia got closer to him, "Uh, gotta go!" Johnny pressed the gem on his necklace and he was teleported away.

As he did so, Alicia backed up and sighed, "I came on a little too strong..."

"And he doesn't remember you...," Jeanne added, "Well, I'm sure you'll see him again very soon now that he knows that he can come and leave as he please. I'll be heading off now too. We were in the middle of school and I'm sure it's the end of the day now."

"Alright then. I'll see all of you soon then."

"Yes. Have a nice rest of the day Princess Alicia."

"Thank you Jeanne. Same to you," Jeanne waved her off as she teleported away. Alicia took out a locket that had a picture of her when she was younger along with two younger boys. One of them was Johnny, "I hope you remember me and hopefully you won't follow the other...," Alicia looked between the two boys who looked nearly identical apart form the two having a few different facial features and hair color.

Johnny was running down the hall as the students began leaving. He saw Brittany leaving alone and he chased after her, "Brittany!" He yelled down the hall. Brittany heard him and started to walk faster, "Avoiding me huh?" He shrugged as he went down another hallway, "I know where you parked your car. I'll be able to get to your car before you."

Johnny jumped out a nearby school window and he looked down, "Forgot I was on the second floor," Johnny fell all the way down and landed roughly on his knees, "Ow...," Johnny jumped a little in place before he sprinted towards Brittany's car.

Brittany walked past her friends who tried to get her attention just to avoid Johnny. However, when she got to her car, she saw Johnny leaning on the driver side door, "Johnny..."

"Wassup' Ms. Smith. Quite the coincidence to see you here."

"Can you get out the way?"

"I don't think that's the way you should address the Chosen One."

"You think I care I'd you're the Chosen One? That might be the case on Iprionia, but here, you're under my foot," Brittany grabbed his shirt collar and brought him to her face. She stared at his cheeky smirk as he chuckled, "Besides, you're lucky you're even the Chosen One..."

"What's wrong with me being the Chosen One?"

"You wanna know why it's wrong you are the Chosen One?" Johnny nodded as he stared at her with the same cheeky expression, "You don't deserve to be the Chosen One!" Brittany yelled. Johnny's expression changed to a confused one. Brittany pushed him back and explained, "My family has lived in your family's shadow for too long. Your ancestors were lucky to have my family at their side. More of your ancestors would be dead if my family weren't there. My family are more deserving of that title than you."

"Don't you think that my family was chosen for a whole different reason than what you're expecting?"

"Yes! They picked your family to harness those powers simply because your family seemed to have those who were more competent. That might've been the case for earlier generations, but this current one has been nothing but disappointment!"

"How so?"

"You honestly don't know do you?"

"It's why I asked," Johnny asked as he turned away from her to look at his sister watching them from the distance, "You obviously know more than me."

"Your generation is going to be the reason Iprionia falls apart and a civil war begins! The regional warlords are about to go to war over who has the rightful control over you and your family. They'll soon forget who the real enemy is causing Iprionia to fall. All because of your family refusing to finish off the Darkness."

"How is that directly caused by my generation? From what I know, my generation consists of myself and my sister. How are we the cause?"

"You don't-."

"Don't ask that. You should already know."

Brittany scoffed and was about to explain, but a loud voice called out to them, "Hey chump!" The same jock from earlier came walking up to them fast and was obviously angry, "I have a bone to pick with you!"

"That's my cue to... leave...," Johnny attempted to get away, but was stopped by a wall of jocks, "Who put this brick wall here...?" Johnny felt around them, but was pushed towards the jock. He was met with a very stiff punch to his cheek. He fell back into the wall of jocks who pushed him into him again.

This time the jock grabbed him and slammed him on the ground before stepping on his sternum. Johnny gasped for breath before slowly standing back up. He looked at Brittany who refused to meet his eyes. He scoffed as he wiped his cheek and spit out some blood, "Alright tough guy. If you really want this beating, then come get it..."

"You'll regret saying that chump!" The jock threw a punch at him, but Johnny quickly dodged and delivered two fast strikes to his ribs, "Ah! What the hell?!" The jock held the area Johnny hit and writhed in pain.

Johnny walked past him and kicked the back of his left knee causing him to kneel. Johnny stretched his shoulder before jumping on his back and rode him like a surfboard. He jumped and stopped right in front of Brittany who still didn't meet his look, "If I'm not worthy, let's duel it out," The jock slowly rose up and Johnny quickly turned and delivered one fierce punch to his cheek, knocking out a tooth in the process, "You and I will duel tomorrow morning before school starts and I'll make it worth your time."

He tried to stand up again, but was meet with a fierce roundhouse kick. The other jocks and popular kids watched in shock at how easily Johnny was beating him. He turned to Brittany and added, "7 minutes. I'll give you 7 minutes to prove whether or not I'm worthy of these powers," Brittany looked at him in shock as he turned to deliver one more punch, but his wrist was grabbed. He turned around to see Brittany grabbing it.

"I accept. Tomorrow in the training grounds of the castle. I'll duel you and make you submit," Johnny smirked at he jerked his hand away.

"Good. Clean this mess up," Johnny walked off and pushed the wall of jocks out the way before making his way to his sister who only had a blank look on her face. Brittany glared at him from behind as she stepped over the downed jock and went in her car, "I'll prove to you and Alicia that I'm a much more worthy Chosen One. Just you watch Johnny..."


	3. Prologue Part 3

That next morning, Johnny was with Jeanne as he psyched himself for his coming duel with Brittany, "Johnny," His sister started, "you need to rethink this."

"Why?" Johnny stretched his arms and jumped in place, "I need to prove myself to not only her, but any other doubter who have yet to show themselves."

"But just your name should be enough Johnny. You don't need to prove to anyone..."

"I need to prove myself to Brittany. She's sitting on her high horse since she's protected Irpionia longer and that I get more recognition because of my name, but she needs to know that I was chosen for a reason."

"Not just you, but our whole family lineage. So now that you say that," Jeanne grabbed her brother's collar and yelled, "Make her submit!"

"I'm not planning to do that. I just want to prove that we were chosen properly. She's still our partner. Our companion. Besides, I'm sure she's willing to help Iprionia, but she just doesn't like our family taking credit for what her family does."

"From what I've read, both of our families have lived perfectly with hers. Granted we've heard her so early into your reign, but our families have met up here in Iprionia many times."

"But our own ancestors recently have gone missing. I doubt they very much enjoy it at all. I also doubt she told her family about this. It would be chaotic if they found out we were dueling it out like this."

"Johnny, how do you feel about all this?"

"Uh, well, it's definitely something that's hard to believe when you hear it, but when you're actually living it like this then uh... well..."

"Is it surreal?"

"Yup. I guess it does explain my fast reaction time and dexterity. I just didn't think I'd be able to fight so well."

"Well, our ancestors could fight extremely well and that soon became part of our genetics."

"It translates to you?"

"Haha, sort of. I still had to train and I don't think I can get up to your level."

"It seems a little too much though. To have all this power without really doing anything to earn it."

"Is what Brittany said getting to you?"

"It's not, but it does make you think. My powers are just given to me without any real reason for me on earning these powers. It's just a little unfair."

"It's for Iprionia Johnny. Protecting an entire civilization should be motivation for you. Forget about how you obtain your powers. You have job and that's to protect Iprionia..."

"Uh...," Before Johnny could anymore, the door behind him opened.

"Are you ready Johnny?" It was Ladislas who had walked in, "Brittany is already on the training field awaiting you."

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Follow me. Jeanne, you will be with Princess Alicia."

"Alright, be safe Johnny and don't go too far."

"I won't, or I hope I won't...," Johnny shrugged his shoulders as he followed Ladislas out of the room. He approached the training field just as the sun was rising over the hills near the castle. The pink hue that he saw in the sky made him smile a little bit. This was something he couldn't see all the time at his home.

He soon saw Brittany glaring at him as he walked onto the training field. Brittany stood firm with her tonfas in her hands, "It's about time you showed up. I was afraid you weren't going to."

"Are you trying to sound like a tough villain or something? Because you saw me teleport here. We walked with each other when we first arrived!"

Brittany buckled her knees as she retorted back, "T-That doesn't matter!"

"It kinda does. It completely negates that entire segment you attempted. Did you stay up all night coming up with that or...," Johnny paused as he smirked at her, "Last night, the episode of Undefeated was released and that same exact line was said. You got it from there didn't you?"

Brittany then blushed heavily and turned away with a frown, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Brittany, I watched last night's episode. I was anxious for it."

"Me too! I was so anxious to see...," Brittany got instantly excited, but stopped instantly as her cheeks turned a bright red, "Shut up!" Brittany punched the air sending a massive fireball in his direction.

"Oh shit, that's new...," Johnny sliced the fireball in half as it exploded behind him. He turned around with a surprised look and looked back at Brittany, "I didn't expect that to happen..."

"S-Sorry...!"

"Why are you apologizing? This is a duel!" Johnny ran forward and met her in a deadlock, "You want to prove to everyone here you're more deserving of my title? Then prove it posh-girl," Johnny attempted to kick Brittany back, but she blocked it and sent him back. He performed a one-handed handspring backwards as he looked at her, "Like I said, 7 minutes. 7 minutes is all I'll allow myself to play with you," Johnny popped his neck as he smirked, "Come on..."

Brittany charged forward and the two fought each other off easily. Each attack they sent was blocked and each opening was quickly covered. Alicia stood impressed at how well they were fighting, "They're doing so well. It's a blessing to have two powerful warriors protecting Iprionia."

"However, look closely at Brittany," Jeanne added. Alicia did so and looked closely at Brittany and was almost shocked to see her getting winded, "She's trying to hard to get a hit in. She's not very athletic and would only have to rely on her own inherited abilities. I assume Johnny knows this and only wishes to have her submit. He doesn't want hurt her and hopes she loses her energy early. It's why he's giving it 7 minutes."

Alicia looked at the two and she seemed to be right. Johnny looked almost disappointed in Brittany. She caught wind of this and backed up from Johnny, "What's the matter? Getting..."

"That's from Undefeated..."

"Shut up!" Brittany ran forward and delivered lightning fast strikes. However, Johnny was still easily blocking and dodging her hits. He soon started to lose interest in the duel all together. Brittany noticed this as she stopped her attacks to meet Johnny in a deadlock, "Why do you look bored? Are you even trying?"

"I was, but now I see it's a little unnecessary to try against someone who's not even worth it."

"What?!" Brittany backed up and glared at Johnny, "What do you mean not worth it?!"

"You almost seem a little too predictable and the reason is your anger towards me. I can see it in your eyes. You're determined, but it's for the wrong reason. Don't we want the same thing here?"

"Huh?"

"We both want to protect Iprionia, right? What's the point of fighting one another if it draws us away from our main objective?"

"I-I..."

"I understand you show hate to my family and towards me especially. But if we're fighting for the same thing, then what's the point of raising our arms against one another?" Brittany remained silent as Johnny stepped towards her. He proceeded to kneel in front of her and placed his spear at her feet, "I may not know much about Iprionia or my own history. I only wish that you can accept me as your Chosen One."

Brittany looked away with a blush before muttering under her breath, "That was from Undefeated..."

"Eh?"

"How could you steal that from Nobushuge..."

"What are you talking about? That was totally all from my head."

"No, that was 3 episodes ago. After Nobushuge defeated Stella after she had thought he wasn't worthy enough of being their strategist. She betrayed everyone and..."

"Nobushuge defeated her and the school she was with...," Johnny finished for Brittany. Johnny looked up at Brittany who was now kneeling with him.

"Even if it is copied from that anime, it's true. We are fighting for the same reason. We weren't chosen just to be the better person, but to protect this world. I was just a little on edge because you just now started to step into your role as Chosen One."

"Well, I'm sure my father had his reasons."

"I was your father's companion during his last 3 years. He knew he needed to step down eventually, but he wanted to keep going for some odd reason."

"Well," Johnny stood up and held his hand out, "I'm sure our 7 minutes are way over."

"Yeah..."

Jeanne ran over to them with Alicia trailing behind, "What happened you two? Is it determined?"

"Well, we came at an agreement that we're all fighting for the same thing. If we fight each other, that will only make our jobs harder. This is our job here on Iprionia and we have to see it through," Johnny placed his hand in the middle and the two girls looked at him confusion, "What? Don't people do that hand thing?"

"No," Both Jeanne and Brittany responded, but the two glared at one another, "I'm not working her though!" They shout in unison.

"Okay, I see there's still tension between the two of you. It seems like you two need to let the cat out the bag."

Moments later, Johnny opened a small bag as a cat hopped out of it stretching, "Didn't expect there to be a cat in there...," On the other hand, the two girls were seated in a guest room in the castle. Johnny stood in between Jeanne and Brittany who were both not looking in each other's direction with their arms crossed. Johnny looked at the two and sighed, "So it's already obvious you two hate each other. I'll allow the both of you to vent out your feelings. However, if things get rough, I'll have to get rough," Johnny picked up two swords and placed the tip of both blades close to them, "Now, Jeanne, you begin."

"Well, if you ever so want me to explain how much I dislike Blondy over there. First of all, how she acts at school straight up irritates me. Since her family has the money to afford her a Ferrari, nice clothes and all, she believes that gives her the right to act like everyone is below her. Whether that whole persona is a facade or not, how you treat other students is extremely terrible and not how a Chosen Companion should act."

"Hm...," Johnny started. Brittany was about to yell back, but Johnny held a sword to her throat, "First off, you two are called Chosen Companions?" They both nodded causing him to sigh, "We need some original names and yes, I do agree. In the half day I saw you act, you were practically walking over those less fortunate students. You did treat them as if they were garbage," Jeanne smirked, but Johnny added, "But I did see some other sides of you when you weren't with that stupid group of popular kids. You were relatively nice. I saw a break in your persona."

Brittany looked back at Johnny who shot a smile at her. He nodded which signaled her to begin talking, "Honestly, you just feel like you're on top of athletic food chain only because you left middle school at the top of the athletic list. You seem to think you own the athletic department simply because you're gifted. News flash missy, You have those abilities because of your family."

"You!" Before Jeanne could say anything else, she was met with the but end of a sword.

"Shush now. So Brittany, you hate the hypocrisy she has towards your monetary foothold at school with her own athletic kingdom?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay...," Johnny stood up as he stabbed both sword beside each girl. Both of them jerked back as he leaned on the nearby desk, "Well, I think I've heard what I needed," The both of them looked at him awaiting his answer, "Well," Johnny sighed saying, "you two are being extremely childish."

"Huh?!"

"Like come on. Has either of you done anything to each other? In any way, have you two done anything to each other physically or mentally? Even passively? Has anything happened?"

"N-No.., but that's not the point!" Both yelled at the same time.

"Nope. I understand you two don't like how each other act, but as long as it doesn't mess with either of you directly then there is no need to show distaste towards each other. In fact, you two come with me. We're gonna have a day out to bond together as a team."

"What about school?" Jeanne wondered, "We just can't skip..."

"Hehehe...," Johnny scratched the back of his head as he explained, "I kinda had our parents call in so we could break the tension between us."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Dad called for us sis and your mother called in for you Brittany."

"H-How did you...," Brittany wanted to know how he got the number of her mother, but she shook her head and stood up with determination, "Let's go out. Johnny, I will make up for my disrespectful actions and I will get along with Jeanne faster than she will for me."

"Oh yeah?" Jeanne stood up after her while saying, "I bet I'll get along with you faster than you could with me! I don't need to do much for my brother. We're practically close enough as is. So in reality, I'm already ahead of you."

"Mmm...," Brittany puffed her cheeks before smirking and grabbing Johnny's hand, "Well," Johnny only looked at her, but Jeanne was practically fuming as she grabbed his hand, "there's something siblings can't do and that's date him. I'll be taking your brother off your hands and date him. I'll make sure he's fed well and knows about his ancestors."

"I-I-I..."

"She has you there Jeanne, but girls, it's not a competition. We're just here to get along..., but I wouldn't mind dating posh-girl here... if you were dating that meathead..."

"What was that?" Brittany asked.

"Oh nothing, posh-girl."

"Drop that name please."

"Uh..."

"Just call me Brittany. Come on. Call me Brittany."

"I'm not a dog..."

"Just call me Brittany Johnny..."

"Uh, I wouldn't mind dating you Brittany?"

"There you go. I'll start getting along with your sister by calling her Jeanne instead of a derogatory nickname."

"A-Ah...," Jeanne tried to retaliate, "Whatever Blondy..."

"Hehe," Brittany smirked devilishly while sticking her tongue out at Jeanne.

"I would say you would've been 'winning' Brittany, but sticking out your tongue brought you back down."

"What?!"

"It's kinda hard to hide that when you're beside me wrapped around my arm. Anyway, let's get a move on. I wanna see the courtyard. I haven't been given a legit tour of the castle yet."

"Come with me then, I'll show you everything I know," Jeanne stated as she pulled her brother away from Brittany.

"Well, I can show you more than just the castle as I've been here for 3 years," Brittany pulled Johnny back to her side to begin a tug of war between the two.

Johnny looked over the door of the bedroom where Alicia was watching the whole escapade. He mouthed the words, "Help me...," Alicia slowly walked off leaving Johnny to his own troubles, "Oh well...," Johnny looked between the two as they were very close to ripping his arm off.

Just over an hour later, the three were now walking through the castle marketplace. Johnny held the two swords next to him to prevent them from grabbing his arms, "Alright, you two show me where you think I should know of first."

"Oh! Over here," Jeanne was about to show him something, but Brittany was already dragging him off to show him something else, "Hey!"

"I hear that you might want to look into learning more about magic. Well, this is a merchant that sells scrolls based on your element type."

"What's my element?"

"You don't know?" Brittany questioned in which Johnny shook his head, "Well, each of us has their own element. Yours is Wind, mine is Fire, and I believe your sister is Electricity. Your magic would have to do more with your element. Anything else is pretty much extra."

"Wait a minute, I only told Alicia that I hadn't remembered any magic."

"Uh..."

"How do you know any of that?" Jeanne came from behind him and stepped in front of Brittany, blocking her view.

"Alicia told us. She had already told us about the lack of magic you knew or remember from our ancestors. I'll make it part of my goal to help you master magic."

"Ha, yeah right," Brittany pushed Jeanne out the way, "I know magic for all elements and magic types. I can easily help you with your magic problem."

"Uh...," Johnny wanted to say something, but he saw that the two were glaring at one another. Johnny sighed as he started to take his swords out. The girls saw this out of the corner of their eyes and they back up from one another whistling or looking around as if nothing happened, "Are you girls really afraid I'll do something?"

"Well, with how powerful you are, you could literally take us out whenever you felt like it. Nobody can match you in terms of pure power and speed," Jeanne explained.

"Nobody?" They nodded, "Not even you two?"

"No, we're only there to assist you in case you become overwhelmed to the point that it's a hindrance to your main goal. So we're really just cannon-fodder for you."

"That's..."

"It's the life that was given to us," Brittany started, "But it's also the life we accepted and will do whatever we can to see it through. There's no need to feel bad. If we somehow perish in battle then you need not worry."

"But that's not right," Johnny interrupted, "How many companions will a Chosen One go through?" Jeanne and Brittany looked at each other as Johnny stared at them, "I don't like that body language..."

"Tell them Blondy..."

Brittany sighed as she shook her head, "Well," She paused before adding, "a Chosen One will normally go through, at most, over 10 companions...," Johnny looked at them for a few seconds before moving fixing his gaze on the castle. He nodded before walking off, "Johnny?"

"We'll be the ones where the same two that I start with will be the same two that I end with...," Johnny told them while walking off. Jeanne and Brittany trailed close behind him.

The group walked through the striving marketplace of the castle before someone ran up to nearby guards pleading with them for help, "Please! Help! My daughters were kidnapped by a group of bandits! Help!" No matter how much they pleaded, the guards pushed the villager off of them.

"Be gone with you! We have no time to deal with worthless plebs! Know your place!" The guards walked off leaving the man to weep and worry for his daughters. Johnny and the girls walked over to him and he placed a hand on his shoulders, "Huh?"

"Don't worry. We'll handle it..."

"Oh... the Chosen One! Thank you!" The guards that walked off from before turned around as Johnny helped the man up. The guards glared at the them before walking off completely.

"Where did you see them run off to?"

"They went north of here. I don't know exactly where they took them..."

Johnny looked over at the girls and they nodded at him. He nodded back as he patted the father's back, "We'll handle it. You can count on us to save your daughters," Johnny turned around and the three placed their fingers on the gems on their necklaces instantly equipping their armor onto them, "We need to move out. If I know the dark side of anime well, then they're definitely going to be used for... grotesque stuff...," They nodded in agreement while running off to save them man's daughters.

Moments later, Johnny, Jeanne, and Brittany traveled through a massive forest area while on their guard, "You girls seem to know this bandit group. Do they kidnap people like this all the time?"

"Yes," Brittany answered, "They kidnap younger girls and they force them to become sex slaves. It's just terrible and it makes me want to beat those bandits into the ground!" Brittany's tonfas erupted in flames causing Johnny and Jeanne to step back.

"I agree," Jeanne added, "It's worse because of the age of the girls they kidnap."

"What's the age range?"

"Between 14-16."

"So basically you two if they ever get a chance to..."

"Don't say it. They won't get that chance. We're going to grab those girls and rough some of those bandits up to teach them a lesson," Brittany banged her tonfas together right before stepped on exposed netting that scooped her up.

Jeanne laughed at Brittany's predicament as she grew a sly smirk on her face, "Little Ms. Perfect should've seen that there. Unlike you, I have Keen Eye, so I can catch these from a mile away," Jeanne leaped over on spot before stepping on another set of netting, scooping her in the process, "Dang it!"

"Haha!" Brittany teased, "Looks like Ms. Keen Eye isn't as  _keen_ as she thought!"

"Shut it! Hey big bro, can you help us out here?"

"Actually," They both turned to Johnny to see that he was already in a net, "I was scooped up before the two of you."

"How?! When?!" They exclaim in unison.

"It was right before you told me 'don't say it'. I didn't stop because you interrupted me. I stopped because of the net. So uh..."

"You idiot!" They berate him as a group of bandits slowly make their way from behind them, "How could you be such an idiot as to not notice these nets here!" Brittany started.

"Yeah, we didn't notice until now, but you're the Chosen One for goodness sake Johnny!"

"Girls..."

The bandits inched closer as they approached them, "Don't interrupt us!" Jeanne interrupted.

"But you just..."

"Shut it! This is why I wasn't so keen on you being the Chosen One! Gosh, I would've taken little Ms. Keen Eye as the Chosen One over you!"

"Girls!" Johnny finally yelled.

"What?!" They yell back.

"We're chained up to a carriage now..."

"Huh?!" They looked around to see themselves chained near other people to a set of other carriages, "When did?!"

"When you girls went on that stupid tangent...," Johnny sighed as he stretched his arms out to reveal that his chains were already off.

"Wait, your chains...," The other people around saw his chains cut already, "When did you..."

"Like after you told me to shut it. Anyway," Johnny stood up and helped out the other before looking at the girls, "I don't know if I should help you out."

"Help us out!" They retort.

"Nah, I'll just carry the two of you," Johnny took one of the horses tied to the carriages and placed the girls on the horse. He then turned to the freed people and scanned, "Hm...," He then saw two young women that resembled the father they agreed to help, "Excuse me...," Johnny walked over the women and asked, "Are you two the daughters of the man in the castle courtyard?"

"Yes, we were raided and kidnapped."

"Okay, good. Looks like we found you. Either of you know how to ride horseback or?"

"No... sorry..."

"That's fine. Just ride with me on my horse. Make sure those two don't fall off. They're on punishment."

"Shut up!"

Moments later, they were on their way riding away from the bandit camp and Johnny decided to talk to the two girls with him, "So, are lower class villagers usually treated this badly? To the point where the soldiers paid to protect all of you shun you?"

"Yes. It seems only those in the middle class and higher class get the good treatment from anyone."

"And what of us?" Johnny asked, "We're practically on top of everything and everyone simply because of who we are? And yet, here we are saving you two along with those who are currently escaping those bandits. What does that say about us?"

"Isn't it your job? To save people?"

"I would like to think it that way, but you need to know that we're doing this not because it's our job. We do it because it's the right thing to do. I could care less about our social standings. In my home world, I'm practically an outsider. I don't have many friends and I'm just someone who just hopes to get by without any trouble," Johnny sighed as he turned to the daughters, "Before we continue, what are your names?"

"My name is Maiko... my little sister here is Usami. I can't thank you enough for saving us. Who knows what those bandits have planned for us..."

"I'm glad we... or they were able to get us captured to make finding them easier."

"You got caught too!" They yell back.

"Yeah, but you two wouldn't shut up that it made it harder for me to break out of my chains. Don't worry, we all did our part. Anyway, Maiko, Usami, we'll get you two back to your father in no time."

Just a few moments later, Johnny had arrived back into the castle and turned to the girls, "Maiko, where is your house?" Johnny silently asked, "I want to make sure I accompany you until you arrive back to your house."

"Just beyond the main marketplace. Close to the entrance," Maiko pointed over past the last building in the marketplace and Johnny nodded, "I hope I haven't been holding on too hard Chosen One..."

"It's fine. I should probably thank Usami for making sure those two don't tumble off the horse."

"She's doing her best, but I'm sorry for soiling your garb Chosen One."

"Please, don't worry Maiko. Also, just call me Johnny. I don't mind being called by my name."

"But Chosen One..."

"No, call me Johnny."

"J-Johnny...?"

"I'll take it. Even though you stuttered, I see it as progress."

"Johnny...," Jeanne softly started, "How long are you going to keep us tied up!"

"I don't know. I'm sure you two could break out easily. I broke out in seconds. Wait, those things are rope. They're not even hard to break!" Johnny answered back, "Just use your strength!" Johnny added. Jeanne and Brittany quickly broke free from tied ropes and looked at Johnny who shook his head, "Geez, you girls should be more aware."

"Says you!"

"Whatever. Let's get these girls to their father as soon as possible. I still want a tour of the castle. Hm," Johnny looked back at them and sighed, "I'll just have Alicia give me the tour. You two can head back home if you'd like."

"Eh?!"

"Why do you two keep making that noise? Look, I appreciate you girls attempting to get along with one another, but I don't feel like this can be done right away. This is where that saying about 'Rome not being built in a day' comes into play. You two will have to eventually get along together and I think you two should just make it gradual rather than right away. Besides, I'm sure Alicia would like to finish the tour from my first day."

"But Johnny..."

"No buts," Johnny looked back at Jeanne and said, "As your older brother, I say you go back home. Not at my home, but at dad's. You know why I chose to live alone."

"But..."

"What did I say?" Johnny gave her a stern tone and this caused her to look down and nod, "Good."

"Well, I'm not your little sister. In fact, I'm older than you. So I'll stay here thank you very much."

"Ha," Johnny gave her a soft, but short chuckle before adding, "As the Chosen One, I order you to go back home and relax. It must've been a stressful morning for you."

"Not really..."

"Still, I think you should relax before school tomorrow. I'll handle everything from here while you two relax."

"But Johnny..."

"Like I told Jeanne, no buts. Just go, okay? Geez," Johnny shook his head and his tone turned into that of an annoyed tone. Without hesitating, the two touched their gems, sending them back to their homes.

Both had similar thoughts on their minds, "What's up with Johnny?"


	4. Love Variables

About 2 weeks later, Johnny sat at his usual table at lunch with Daniel, Pam, and Luke. They were just talking about whatever was on their mind, "So Johnny, did you see the season finale of Undefeated?" Luke asked.

"Hell yeah. I still can't believe that they're getting real with it. Think about how they would do outside of high school. I can't wait for...," In the middle of his sentence, a hand was slammed next Johnny, "Huh?" He looked at the culprit and it was revealed to be Brittany, "What? Brittany?"

"Whoa... Brittany...," Daniel shocking stated.

"What do you want posh-girl?"

"It's Brittany thank you very much and I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait? I'm kind of in the middle of a conversation right now," Johnny shook his head and continued his conversation, "Anyway, I think Nobushuge is just gonna go crazy in his first battle. I mean, they're coming so close to him finally using the...," Brittany soon pulled out a chair beside Johnny and sat on it. She crossed her arms and legs and had a huge pout on her face, "What? Don't you have a group of popular kids to surround yourself with?"

"I'll just wait here until your finished. Besides, they'll be fine without me."

Johnny turned around and saw that all eyes were on them. Not the table, but Johnny and Brittany specifically, "This is getting weird."

In the distance, Jeanne was watching from her table of soccer teammates, "I wonder why Brittany is sitting at the reject table with your brother," One of her teammates asked. She turned towards Jeanne to see her bending her  _metal_  fork in half with one hand, "Uh..."

Johnny glanced over at the popular kid table who were glaring at him alone, "And it might get weirder," Johnny sighed as he stood up, "I'm heading to the bathroom."

"I'm going with you," Brittany added as she stood up with him.

"That's not really necessary."

"I'm going to the bathroom with you whether you like it or not!" Brittany yelled causing the entire cafeteria to get rowdy.

"And you had to yell that out loud?"

The fork in Jeanne's hand was now snapped in half as she had a fumes of smoke coming from her head, "Jeanne!"

"Time to get out of here," Johnny grabbed Brittany's hand and ran off with her. Johnny sprinted to the roof of the school and stopped when they were clear of anyone, "Well...," Johnny turned to Brittany who stared at her hand, "What? Did I accidentally break your nails?"

"N-No!"

"Then what's the problem?" Johnny grabbed her hand again, shocking her, and checking it, "There's nothing wrong? Did I hurt you in anyway?"

"No! Look, I..."

"Before you continue, what you yelled is gonna cause some problems between us. Secondly, what's your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just interrupting us during lunch, sitting at our table? Why the hell did you think that was a good idea."

"Because... you guys were talking about the finale. I wanted to at least be part of the conversation."

"Really? Brittany, we can talk about it after school. Besides, you weren't going to say anything about it."

"How would you know that?"

"You need to keep your status at school. However, I think that will be slightly impossible thanks to that earlier outburst."

"Did people get the wrong idea?"

"You think?! Nobody in their right mind would yell that they would be going to the bathroom with someone whether they like it or not would think that was a good idea."

"I didn't think about that," Johnny lightly punched Brittany's head causing her to grab her head, "Ow..."

"Brittany, you need to make the decision. Do you want to keep your status, or ruin it by conversing with me."

"Uh..."

"Give it some thought. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

"There's a problem in Iprionia."

"You could've just told me that..."

"There's no other way to contact you other than in person..."

"I'll give you my number when we're done," Brittany's eyes brightened as he said this, "So what's our Irpionian problem?"

"U-Uh, someone cursed Alicia."

"Cursed? Like... how bad is this curse?"

"Someone placed a sleep curse on her."

"Hm. Okay, shall we get going?"

"Shouldn't we wait on Jeanne?"

"Nah, she has track practice today. It'll be only us on this mission," Brittany fell silent as she instantly grabbed Johnny's arm, "Uh..."

"Let's go!" Brittany pressed the gem on her necklace and teleported to Iprionia. Johnny still stood on the roof with a frustrated look on his face.

"I thought she would know that you can't take people with you when you teleport. And here she is saying she's done this for 3 years."

Moments later, Johnny and Brittany were walking with Ladislas to Alicia's room, "She has been asleep for nearly 2 days straight. If she won't wake soon, she'll die from starvation and thirst," Ladislas opened the door to Alicia's massive bedroom and Johnny was enamored by the size, "Please check on her you two."

"Whoa...," Johnny was too busy looking around the room, "This place is..."

"Johnny, we have more pressing matters," Brittany dragged Johnny over to Alicia who was sleeping, but she seemed to have been in pain, "Who'd thought sleeping would kill someone."

"I wish I could sleep like that..."

"In pain?"

"Well, I would like to sleep without having to worry about school. Anyway, Ladislas, how do we break the curse?"

"You must head off to HolyHills Summit. There, you will find the Song Maiden."

"Song Maiden?" Johnny questioned.

"She's a legendary maiden who doesn't age and can cure anyone of any curse just by playing a melody on her harp," Brittany explained, "She resides far from society and from the war so that she won't have to face any violence."

"Hm, but how far is HolyHills?"

"It's just beyond the plains we first arrived from Johnny," Ladislas added, "Just north of there, and you should arrive at the base of the summit."

"Okay. I'll just rely on Brittany to lead the way. Wanna get going Brittany?" Johnny asked and she responded with a simple nod, "Alright, let's get geared up," Johnny pressed the gem on his necklace and his armor instantly appeared on him, "Hehe, I'm starting to get the hang of this."

"I see that. My turn!" Brittany pressed her gem too enabling the same thing to happen to her. Johnny looked up and down her body before his eyes were fixated on something specific, "What are you looking at?" Brittany covered herself from Johnny while blushing madly.

"Well they're just poking out wanting to be looked at. What am I suppose to do? Ignore them when they're about to burst out of that thing? Are you sure that top is the right size?" Johnny retorted.

"Ladoka said it was the right size."

"Didn't you become a companion 3 years ago?" Brittany face soon flushed a bright red before Johnny sighed and walked past her, "Whatever, if you're comfortable showing that much cleavage then be my guest," Johnny left Brittany who thought about it more and she fumbled around in embarrassment.

"W-Wait! Johnny!" Brittany tackled Johnny and sent the two to the ground, "Help me cover myself!"

"Get off me! They're pressing against me!"

"Ah!"

Moments later, Johnny and Brittany were riding off at high speeds to the summit. Brittany had a cloak around her upper body to cover her cleavage. Johnny looked at her and sighed, "Shouldn't you be in front of me?!" Johnny yelled past the wind.

"Why is that?!"

"You're the one that actually knows where this mountain is! It makes sense for you to lead the way instead of me!"

"Right..."

"Brittany, what's up?" Johnny stopped mid-run and shot a stern glance at Brittany.

"What are you talking about?" Brittany turned towards Johnny and met his gaze only to look away instantly.

"Ever since our duel, you've been a lot more, and I don't mean this in a derogatory way, submissive. Like, you agree with everything I say almost hesitantly and very shyly. What's up?"

"Uh..."

"That too. Every time I attempt to push some sort of subject on you, you respond with 'um' and a blush. There's no way you have a legit crush on me. Besides, aren't you dating that meathead I beat the hell out of 2 weeks ago?"

"Yeah..."

"That makes what you said earlier more problems for me to deal with. Look, if you're hiding something, then say it Brittany."

"Look, I'm still not all too keen on you being the Chosen One because of how nonchalant you are about everything," This wasn't even what Brittany wanted to say, but it's what slipped out, "You just look to half-ass things. You don't take anything seriously," Brittany still didn't meet his eyes. Johnny stepped off his horse and walked over to Brittany, "I don't know how that will work in the long run..."

"But is that reason you won't look at me?" Johnny asked as he pet Brittany's horse, "There must be some reason that you won't look at me."

"I don't want to properly answer that..."

"Tell me. I don't want to order you to tell me. I just want you to tell me person to person. Not Chosen One to Companion," Johnny urged Brittany to look at him, but she still didn't meet his gaze. However, before Johnny could say anything else. A massive barrage of arrows came down towards them, "Uh oh!" Johnny whistled and ushered his horse to run away back to the castle. It quickly followed his order and went off.

Brittany was about to block them, but Johnny hopped onto her horse from behind and rode off, "Johnny!"

"Sorry!" Johnny brought his spear to their left and spun it at tremendous speeds, blocking every single arrow that came down on them, "Kind of a last minute action!" Johnny held Brittany close with his free arm as he grabbed the reins and gained control of the horse, "Just endure this Brittany. I'm sorry if I'm soiling your body or something."

"N-No... this is fine...," Brittany soon felt herself hug the arm Johnny had around her waist.

"Don't grab my arm like that."

"Sorry...," Brittany instantly retracted her arm away and blushed.

"Just tell me where to go while we try to run away."

"Okay... just go beyond Slime Plains and keep heading down the path. You'll soon see the sign that says we'll be nearing HolyHills Summit."

"Got it. I'm sorry for grabbing you like this. I know it must feel uncomfortable."

"No... I-I said it's fine..."

About hour later after successfully losing their ambushers, they soon arrive at the base of the summit, "We're here. It doesn't seem like your horse can make it up though," Johnny was about to hop off the horse, but he realized that something was grabbing onto him. He sighed in frustration, "Let go..."

"Sorry..."

"You and I are having a talk when we we get back to Earth. We're having a one on one talk at my house."

"Y-Your house?"

"Yeah. Unless you'd rather meet in public and risk having our classmates see us outside together?"

"R-Right..."

"Don't worry, Jeanne won't be there. Remember, I live alone, so you won't have to worry about her interrupting us," Brittany stiffened up when he said this, but he didn't seem to notice as he walked off, "Let's get going."

"R-Right!"

Johnny and Brittany took another long trip up the mountain before getting tired, "Hah...," Brittany bent down and took long gasps of breath, "I don't remember it being so far from the base..."

"You said it's not far from now, so we can rest just a little bit until then," Johnny looked over at Brittany and sighed. He took out a flask and handed it to Brittany, "Here, I thought we would need a drink during our trip, so go ahead and drink up."

"Uh..."

"Go on. I don't really need it. I'm not all too tired."

"How? You don't play any sports."

"Just because I don't play any sports doesn't mean I'm not in shape. Come on. What kinda misconception were you told?"

"Sorry... it was just something I always assumed."

"Whatever, just drink up. We'll take a short break before heading out," Johnny found a tree before sitting down and leaning back on it, "Just say whenever you're ready to go," Johnny placed his spear near him just in case he needed to grab it quickly.

Brittany looked at Johnny who was now taking a nap. She stared at his sleeping face and slowly began to think back many years ago.

-2 years ago-

"Brittany, come here dear!" An older blonde woman called. Soon after, a slightly younger Brittany with her hair in a ponytail ran over to her.

"Yeah Mom?"

"We're about to head off to Uncle Johnathan's house and meet the his child."

"Child? But I already know Jeanne. Did he have another kid?"

"No, his son."

"He has a son?"

"Yes, his name is Johnny. He'll be the next Chosen One for when Johnathan steps down."

"Then I'll be able to be his companion with Jeanne. But wait, why so late? Why step down as the Chosen One so late in his life?"

"I'm sure he'll explain when we get there. Now come on, they're waiting for us."

Moments later, Brittany walked with who we assume is her mother and walked with her to a much larger house. It was almost mansion like, "I always love coming to this house. It's so big and I always have fun with Jeanne when I'm here."

_Man, what happened between Jeanne and I? We actually had fun together..._

"Yes, it's part of their compensation from helping Iprionia for generations to come. Now come on," Brittany's mother knocked on the door and a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a slightly younger Jeanne.

"Aunt Judith and Brittany!" Jeanne tackled the two for a hug and smiled, "My dad is waiting in the living room with my brother. Come on!" Jeanne ran back into the house with the other following her in.

They soon walked in for them to see an older man, possibly in his 40s, and another younger boy around the age as Jeanne, "Hey there John," Brittany's mom calls out.

"Huh?" He turned around and smiled at both of them, "Ah, Judith and my companion. How's it going you two?"

"Just fine. We just came here to see your son," They both turned to the boy who was leaning on the wall while looking at the ceiling. He wore a dark gray shirt accompanied by a dark, high-collar jacket with khaki pants and high-top sneakers, "Is that him?"

"Yeah, but try not to talk to him too much," Johnny's father softly whispered, "He just cane off a nasty break up with his first girlfriend. The young one is coping with his first break up."

"Ouch. That's not good for his self-esteem. Will he still be fine to be the Chosen One?"

"Possibly. However, things have been hard ever since his mother left. He adored his mother and I guess he shows a little resent towards me since I was the cause of the divorce."

"Well, I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

While they were talking, Brittany stared at Johnny who had caught her eye so well. She was basically gawking over him at first sight. She felt someone tap her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance, "Huh?" She turned around to see Jeanne frowning at her, "Jeanne? What's wrong?" Jeanne grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside, "Hey..."

"Look," Jeanne started, "I see how you're looking at my brother and don't try it."

"Huh?"

"He's not available to anyone. He's nobody else's."

"What are you talking about?"

"I see those eyes of yours. You think you can just fall for my brother the minute you see him? Then fat chance Brittany."

"What's wrong with you Jeanne?"

"Johnny's mine and only mine. Besides, he hates ponytails so you won't even be worth it for him."

"Huh?" Brittany looked up at her hair and placed her hands on her ponytail.

-Present Day-

Brittany was grabbing the same spot she had her ponytail and sighed, "I'm nervous around because of your sister. She's just too obsessed with you that it's scary just being near you. I tried my best to find everything you like. Heavy cleavage, expensive sports cars... and even taking down my ponytail. All of this is for you Johnny. I didn't care of you were Chosen One or not. I always knew you would be the one. Everything I do is... something I had no control over. I never liked that stupid meathead at school... I always liked..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a massive volley came down on them again, "Ah!" Brittany jumped up and was able to deflect the arrows easily. However, one slipped past her and pierced Johnny right in his shoulder, "Oh no!" since the volley ended, Brittany ran over to Johnny, "Johnny! Come on! Wake up!" Brittany shook Johnny around to wake him up, but he remained asleep, "Johnny!" Soon afterwards, another volley followed, catching Brittany off guard. She held one of her tonfas in one arm and Johnny in the other.

She braced for impact and flinched awaiting the arrows to pierce them. However, she felt nothing, "Am I dead?"

"Far from it young one," Brittany opened her eyes to see a gorgeous woman standing with a harp. In front of her, the volley of arrows were stopped in mid-air by some sort of purple aura, "I shall deal with this problem," With one strum of her heart, a strum so elegant and pleasing to the ear, and with this strum, formed a massive tornado that sucked up the arrows and sent them back to where they came from.

Brittany watched in awe as the woman continued playing her harp while twirling around with grace that no one could match. Once the arrows were out of sight, the woman turned around, knelt in front of them and held out her hand, "Now, let us head somewhere safe young ones."

Moments later, Brittany stood outside a medium-sized, wooden shack on the mountain. She paced around hoping the arrow didn't harm Johnny too much. The door to the shack opened as the woman from earlier stepped out, "You may come in if you'd like."

"But don't you need concentration Song Maiden?"

"It's fine. I've already cleaned his wound and he's currently resting. Come on inside. It's terrible for you to just worry about him and not know of his condition."

"I-It's not like I'm worried for his safety...," Brittany softly stated, _"I'm worried about what his sister would do if she found out he got hurt..."_

"Sure. So do you wanna come in?"

"S-Sure thing..."

The Song Maiden allowed Brittany into her shack and saw that Johnny was resting on the ground with his head on a pillow. He was shirtless with a bandage around the shoulder that the arrow pierced. Brittany was very impressed with his body. Johnny never did sports, but his body was well-toned. It wasn't too outrageous with muscle like her current boyfriend, but it was toned.

"He's quite in shape. Well, that's expected of the Chosen One," The Song Maiden walked in and knelt next to Johnny, "He's young though. Judging by his body mass and other parts, he seems to be 14."

"O-Other parts...?"

"Well, I see some hair under his arms which is usually a sign that he's an adolescent. Also, I see some facial particles on his face. As for other parts, I don't think you'd like to know," The Song Maiden shot a wink in Brittany's direction, causing her to blush madly, "Anyway, he's still out. The reason he was still asleep even after taking that arrow to the shoulder was because he laid down on some Fall Asleep Mushrooms."

"Fall Asleep Mushrooms?" Brittany cringed and sighed, _"Johnny's right. These names are terrible..."_

"I played my melody to awake him. However, he's still asleep because I gave him some medicine that will make him sleep."

"But we need your help Song Maiden."

"Please, call me Sai Wong and yes. I had a feeling something was wrong. I could see it in the ether. Alicia seems to have fallen asleep as well, but not to a curse."

"Huh? So you mean it was something else."

"Yes. The same reason the Chosen One here is asleep. It seems she has somehow digested or come into contact with some Fall Asleep Mushrooms."

"How though?"

"These mushrooms can be quite the delicacy to the royal family if cooked properly."

"So you're saying that the sleep inducing ingredients can be cooked out and they weren't cooked out properly in the princess's last meal?"

"That's correct. However, it can be fixed with my simple song. However, it'll be dangerous to travel with the Chosen One asleep like this and whoever those people are attacking you. The princess will be fine as long as she hasn't been asleep for long."

"We're not sure, but when we saw her, she seemed to be in pain."

"That usually happens when someone she likes is near her."

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing. She's fine. We'll head out first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, but what about Johnny?"

"Johnny? So that's your name young one," Sai Wong started to caress Johnny's head and chuckled, "He'll be just fine. I'll look after him while you rest your mind."

"But...," Brittany looked down at Johnny who was sleeping rather peacefully, "Okay yeah. I'll rest..."

"Just lay down next to him. I'll watch over the both of you okay?"

"B-Beside him?"

"It's fine. He hasn't moved a muscle since he's been laying here. If he does, I'll make sure he doesn't roll onto you," Sai smiled at Brittany who looked at Johnny and took a big gulp before laying down next to Johnny.

Sai chuckled as she got up and walked off to leave the two behind. She looked at Johnny as he slept facing the ceiling. Brittany had the urge to just wrap her arms around him, but she stopped herself from doing so. She exhaled out and turned around before falling asleep.

Brittany found herself inside a massive cathedral. She was dressed in a beautiful wedding gown. He smiled and twirled around, "It's beautiful!"

"I know," A familiar voice called out.

Brittany turned to see her mother smiling at her, "Mom?"

"Yeah, but I think our time to talk is short. You're groom is waiting on you."

"G-Groom?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I know the last few days have been crazy for you, but Johnny proposed to you 3 months ago, remember?"

"J-Johnny?!"

"Hehe, I remember when you first told me about your crush on him. It took you so long though. I knew it would take some time, but I didn't think it would take 10 years."

"10 years?"

"Uh, I think it's time just to go see him now. Everyone's waiting on your vows!" Brittany's mom started to push Brittany out of the room and towards the main cathedral.

"M-Mom!" Brittany's mom pushed her through the massive double doors. She saw the massive crowd in the cathedral. From her friends from school, to some of the staff in the castle, and even Alicia.

At the altar, her heart stopped when she saw the back of someone, "Is that really...?" The person turned around and it was revealed to be an older version of Johnny. His black hair was longer and tied into a neat ponytail. He had a 5 o'clock shadow that was surprisingly neat and went well with his ponytail, "It's really him..."

Brittany slowly started to walk towards the altar. She could feel her legs shaking with every step she took. She could see and feel Johnny's glance at her. Her heart fluttered with each step.

"Brittany...," Johnny's older gruff voice sent sparks through Brittany, "I'm so glad you're with me...," Johnny held out his hand out as she got closer to him. She reached out to grab his hand, but his hand and everything around her disintegrated.

"Huh?! No!"

"Ha!" Brittany eyes widened as she heard Jeanne behind her. She quickly turned to see a massive rendition of Jeanne staring down at her, "You'd think my brother would actually propose to someone like you? Someone who pretended to dislike him?! Hahaha! Not a chance! Unlike you! I actually have a chance. Why don't you leave with the other rejects!" Jeanne snapped her finger causing Brittany to fall into the dark abyss around her. Beneath her as she fell, a massive amount of hands were reaching out to catch her.

"No! No! Nooooo!"

Brittany woke up in a cold sweat. She was breathing heavily and was shaken up. She looked up to see that she was laying down on Johnny's lap. Johnny was looking down at her with a worried expression, "What's wrong?"

"A-Ah!" Brittany was about to push him away, but Johnny stopped her, "Huh?!"

"Hey, chill out. You seemed to have been having a bad dream so I wanted to comfort you while you slept. It didn't seem like the normal nightmare. It was a night terror. Is everything fine?" Johnny's usual sarcastic, nonchalant tone was now that of a caring friend. Johnny had genuine concern for Brittany.

Brittany slowly rose and grabbed her head, "I did have one, but I think I'll just keep it to myself."

"Are you sure? It was pretty bad. I heard you call my name out. Are you worried that you'll outlive me as the companion?"

"Huh?"

"I know I'm not immortal. I can still die. I just have powers beyond those who do face me. However, that doesn't make me invincible."

"No, it wasn't that. It was just something else I'd rather not talk about."

"Okay. Well, Sai told me we would be moving out in about an hour. So I guess you woke up at a good time," Johnny shot a very warming smile in her direction causing her to blush and look away, "I'll give you time to get ready during that hour. I'll be outside on look out. Sai is in her study if you want to see her."

"O-Okay...," Johnny stood up and grabbed his spear that was near the door before walking out. Brittany scratched her head and sighed. She slowly stood up and slowly began making her way to where Johnny said Sai was.

She knocked on the door and heard Sai answer, "Yes, come in," Brittany slowly walked in hiding her face, "Oh, Brittany. Huh? Why the long face?"

"I had a night terror about Johnny?"

"Hehe, I know. It's about your love for him right?"

"How'd you know? Let me guess, the ether?"

"No, just guessing after yesterday's events. I know your love for him. However, there are some other variables preventing you from enacting on that love," Brittany turned away as Sai stood up from her desk, "Brittany, you know your job as the Chosen Companion comes before attempting to be his lover," Brittany tightened up as she wanted to deny that fact.

"Sai, can I tell you something?"

"Hm?"

"What would you do if you were in my situation? What would you do to fight off those variables no matter how great those variables might be."

"Hm, well, I have a lot of experience in this field due to my age. I've dealt with so many blockades in my love life that I can provide very useful advice," Sai leaned on her desk and continued, "With your love life, I can assume it won't just be what happens here, but what happens in the Earth Realm, correct?" Brittany nodded, "Well, you must find a way to combat those variables. Start with the easy ones and work yourself up all while getting some romance points with whomever you're in love with."

"Do you think I can?"

"Of course. You're a strong young lady Brittany. I believe in you...," Brittany looked up at Sai who gave her a very warming smile.

About an hour or two later, Sai, Johnny, and Brittany were in Alicia's room as she was still sleeping. Sai had her harp in hand and nodded before strumming a very beautiful melody. Johnny and Brittany were enamored by the melody and felt at peace.

Alicia eyes slowly began to flutter open. She looked around once they opened and sat up while stretching, "Hm?" She saw Sai, Johnny, and Brittany looking at her, "Johnny, Brittany, and the Song Maiden?! What's going on?!"

"You had actually eaten the Fall Asleep Mushroom milady," Sai answered.

Johnny whispered over to Brittany saying, "We need to change that name," Brittany nodded as the two looked over at Alicia.

"You two must've went through some trouble to retrieve the Song Maiden."

"Well, we went through a bit," Johnny looked over at Brittany and the two smiled warmly at one another. They were very close together, especially their hands. Brittany was very tempted to grab his hand and she felt that Johnny was the same. Alicia looked over at Sai who was smiling at the two.

"Uh?"

Before anything else could happen, the door to Alicia's bedroom flew open to show Jeanne sprinting over to Johnny, "Jeanne?!" Jeanne leaped forward and tackled Johnny down and shielded him while hugging him at the same time, "What the hell Jeanne?!"

"I saw what was about to happen! I'll protect you from Blondy!" Jeanne spawned her spear and jabbed in Brittany's direction, "Don't worry big bro. I'll protect you!"

"Jeanne!" Johnny tried his best to break from her sister's grasp, "Jeanne! Let go of me!"

"No!"

Sai walked over to Brittany who grabbed her own hand and shied away from them, "I understand what one of your hard to pass variables are now," Sai smiled at her as she placed a hand on her shoulder, "Trust me, she'll come around. Try to win her over first and you'll get your dues."

"Huh?" Brittany looked up at Sai who only gave a very warm smile. She looked back down at the siblings practically wrestling now. Brittany's shy look went away before turning into a very bright smile, "I got it. I'll believe in myself Sai. I'll win him no matter what."

"That's the spirit. You know where to find me in case you need to talk. I'll be residing back in my old house in the castle courtyard."

"How will I know what house you'll be in?"

"You'll know. For now, focus on your goal for Johnny," Sai looked over at the siblings and Brittany looked up at her, "If you try hard for you goal, you will obtain your goal."

"Yeah... I'll try my best to do so."

Brittany smiled at Johnny who was still wrestling with her sister, _"Haha, don't worry Johnny. I'll make sure my dream doesn't end the way it did last night. I'll make sure of that."_

That next day, Johnny had not seen Brittany once that day. He was rather worried and felt that it was his fault. He was at lunch sitting at his usual table thinking about Brittany. Pam caught this and asked, "Is something wrong Johnny?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, Pam's right. You've just been spacing out the whole time," Daniel added.

"Sorry, just thinking about someone..."

"Is it that Brittany girl?" Daniel asked.

"Dude, if she said what she said to me with her boyfriend within earshot, I'd be worried too," Luke stated, "But knowing you, I don't think you'd really be worried, right?"

"Yeah, I could care less about that meathead. If I beat his ass once, I can do it again. It's just what happened between myself and Brittany the other day."

"You hung out with her?" They all ask him at the same time.

"I probably should've kept that to myself...," In the middle of Johnny's sentence, everyone was looking at something else and gasping in shock. Johnny turned around and saw someone. His eyes widened, "Is that?"

At the lunch room doors, Brittany walked through, but instead of wearing her usual expensive, hoity-toity clothes, she was wearing normal jeans, a simple white blouse with a light pink jacket. She wore glasses and her hair was in a ponytail. Similar to the one she had 2 years ago.

"Brit, what are you wearing? And why do you look like that?" One of the girls at her usual table asked, "You look like... a dork."

"I"m deciding that I need a change," Brittany looked over at her boyfriend, the guy that Johnny had fought just 2 weeks ago, "Starting with you."

"Huh? Babe what are you," Brittany held her finger up to stop him in the midst of his sentence.

"No. Shut up. I'm done. We're done."

"Wait what?! You're not saying what I think you're saying?!"

"Oh, forgot that you were an idiot that gets carried in class. Uh, I'm breaking up... with you!" Brittany yelled while emphasizing the words: Breaking and You. She then turned around and looked over at Johnny's table, "I found someone much more suitable."

"W-What?!"

"By the way, I think all of you should just find a new leader. I'm done playing the rich girl. I wanna have fun... as the real me," Brittany walked away towards Johnny's table. She stopped next to Johnny and looked at his friends, "Uh, I hope it's alright if I sit here with all of you, right?"

"It's obviously fine with me," Johnny said, "What about the three of you? Are you fine with Brittany being here?"

"U-Uh..."

"I know I haven't given myself the best image, but are you three willing to allow me to sit here?"

"Sure!" They all responded with glee. Brittany smiled as she took a seat next to Johnny and smiled at him, "So Brittany, what do you wanna talk about?"

"How about the most recent episode of SAHS?"

"You watch that?" They asked.

"Yeah! I love the relationship between Shane and Sam."

"Yeah, but I think Elle would have a better chance at being the best ship with Shane," Luke added.

"Nonsense. We see how well Shane and Kelly work together," Luther added.

"What about Emma?" Pam softly added.

Johnny could only smile at Brittany at how well she's handling this change. However, on the other side of the cafeteria, Jeanne was ready to just jump up and kick Brittany out of the seat next to Johnny,  _"She thinks she can try and win him over trying a cheap tactic? Nice try Blondy..."_

After school, Johnny was walking with his group with the newest addition of Brittany, "Well, we have a new member of our group guys, but don't make it weird, okay Luke?"  Johnny added.

"Huh? What are you on about? I'm not really into 3D girls. 2D girls are where it's at."

"I can partially agree with that," Both Pam and Brittany pouted at Johnny as he added, "Anyway, I guess it's time to go though. I have to finish off some homework I neglected the other day."

"Alright, see all of you later!" Luke, Pam, and Daniel all waved Johnny and Brittany off.

Johnny turned to Brittany and stared at her ponytail, "What? You don't like it...?"

"No, I love ponytails. They're very pretty."

"Huh? I thought you didn't like ponytails."

"Who told you that?" Johnny questioned, but Brittany just looked away whistling, "Look, I like when girls put their hair down. I like just about all styles of hair. Ponytails are my favorite though. It really suits you," Johnny smiled at Brittany who blushed at his comment, "But if you ever start putting your hair in pigtails, I'll cut if off right away."

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, but uh, about talking to you at my house about how you act... uh, let's not do it. I'm sure we can find another way. Like through this," Johnny held out his phone and shook it in the air, "I did say I would give you my number so that I could talk to you whenever you wanted to talk."

"Uh..."

"Here," Johnny handed her his phone and held out his hand, "put your number in my phone and I'll put mine in yours."

"Okay..."

"In the mean time, let's walk to the parking lot," Brittany nodded and walked with Johnny towards his own car, "What? Did you change what you drive too?"

"Sort of. Instead of the ferrari, I'm just taking a normal Altima, but I didn't drive to school today. Could you drive me home?" Brittany handed Johnny his phone and Johnny did the same.

"Sure. Just tell me where you live."

"Uh, could I sleep at your house?"

"Why?"

"The weekend starts tomorrow, so there's nothing wrong since we'll both be sleeping in, right?"

"I guess so, but are you fine with that?"

"I am."

"Alright, just get in," Johnny unlocked his car and stepped in followed by Brittany.

"Are you old enough to drive with a permit?"

"Nope, so don't say anything," Johnny started the car before driving off to his house.

Later that night, Johnny was fixing up his bed while Brittany showered in his bathroom. She stood in there most of the time rather than actually washing her body, "So this is Johnny's house. A normal 1 floor, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a kitchen and a living room. No dining room and a small laundry room. Suitable for one person not making much money," Brittany covered her breasts as she looked at the mirror that hung off Johnny's bathroom door and looked at herself.

"Johnny..."

"Yo Brittany!" Johnny called out.

"J-Johnny!"

"Uh, you don't have a change of clothes do you?"

"N-No... I didn't think you'd actually say yes."

"Well, I have a change of clothes for you in my bedroom. Also, just set your clothes in the laundry room. I'll do them tonight so you can change into them tomorrow."

"Okay..."

"You'll be taking my bed tonight. I'll sleep on my sofa."

"Y-You don't need to do that."

"It's fine. I did it for Jeanne during our first few days of school and when she visits."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry about it," Johnny walked off leaving Brittany alone in the bathroom.

She looked down at herself and sighed, "I wish I hadn't locked the door..."

About an hour later, Brittany looked at the clothes Johnny had laid out for her. It was just a normal t-shirt with basketball shorts, "I don't have a change of...," Brittany blushed as she covered her pelvis region. She heard a knock behind her and saw Johnny's shoulder.

"Uh, I wasn't sure if you were okay with wearing my boxer briefs. As for a bra... it's why I got one of my old shirts. Didn't want to give you any of my tank tops. Sorry for my lack of stuff for you to wear. I would give you the stuff my sister wears when she visits but uh..."

"But what?"

"You won't fit them in certain areas," Johnny looked down at his own chest and sighed, "I'll be in the living room on my couch if you need anything else."

"O-Okay..."

About 2 hours later, Johnny was already asleep on the couch while Brittany found it hard to sleep again. She stood up and walked into the living room to see Johnny sleeping rather peacefully, "I guess after how well you slept the other night, no place is hard for you to sleep."

Brittany walked over to him and knelt in front of him, "Hehe, you're cute Johnny," Johnny rolled over and his hand drooped over the side. Brittany had managed to narrowly dodge it and prevent it from hitting her, "Whew. I wonder if he moved a lot when we were in Sai's shack."

Brittany sighed as she took a seat on the chair near him, "Oh well...," Brittany stared at him until she herself fell into a deep sleep, _"Johnny... I will show that I love you... one day..."_


	5. Family Drama

On the Sunday after Brittany slept over, Johnny stared at his ceiling figuring out how to have fun without any money, "So let me look at some of my possibilities. No episodes of anime I enjoy are out today and all of my game consoles and computer is at my dad's house," Johnny took out his wallet and peaked inside, "I only have 34 dollars and I can't risk driving anywhere today. What to do..."

Johnny felt his phone vibrate underneath him and he fumbled to pick it up. He saw that he had gotten a message from Brittany, "You were just at my house yesterday...," Johnny sighed as he read the message.

_Hey Johnny, do you wanna do anything today? If you're available?_

"What? Am I available...?" Johnny looked around his house and at his car keys on the coffee table next to him, "Damn. Oh well, I guess we're gonna head out," Johnny sent a message back saying he would be good and where they should meet up. He instantly received a message saying:

_Let's meet downtown. You'll see me in the blue Nissan Altima._

"Got it. She should be able to know when I pull up though," Johnny stood up and walked to his bedroom to get ready.

Around a half hour later, Johnny was in his car driving downtown to meet up with Brittany. He looked at himself in his rear view mirror and sighed, "Didn't have time to fix my hair...," Johnny messed with his hair a little before focusing back on the road, "What are we gonna do though? I know she has money, but I don't have any. It would suck if I had her pay for everything," Johnny soon pulled up downtown and sighed.

"This place brings back some good and bad memories," Johnny saw a blue Nissan Altima parked in front of a cafe and nodded, "That seems to be her car," Johnny looked for a place to park in front of the cafe and found one behind a very familiar car to him, but he shrugged it off.

He took a deep breath before stepping out his car and made his way to the cafe. He walked inside and he could feel multiple eyes on him. All of them girls. He looked around and saw that most of the girls in the cafe were looking at him with lecherous eyes. He continued to look around until he saw Brittany at table by the window pouting. Johnny scratched the back of his head and made his way over to her.

"Hehe, looks like I've garnered the attention of every able body female in the cafe," Johnny sat in front of Brittany who still pouted at him, "What? Can I not have this moment where I experience girls gawking over me?"

"Johnny, you need to remember who you're here with."

"My Chosen Companion and not my girlfriend?"

"U-Uh... yeah!"

"Remember, this isn't a date. I know you broke up with your boyfriend the other day, but that shouldn't mean you should jump into another relationship so soon."

"I-I didn't say anything about being in a relationship with you!" Brittany slammed her hands on the table which gathered the attention of everyone in the cafe, "Uh..."

"Calm down posh-girl. Look, while we're here, we need to figure out what we're gonna do. We didn't come with a definite plan."

"I did," Brittany took out a notepad and handed it to Johnny, "It's the first note."

"Uh, number 1: Spend some quality time at the cafe," Johnny looked around and nodded, "Check."

"No, not check!" Brittany snatched the notepad from his hand and glared at him, "We've barely been here 5 minutes. We need to just sit here, order some coffee, and relax."

"I don't drink any type of caffeine."

"What? How do you stay awake during school?"

"I don't. I usually fall asleep during class until the teacher calls on me. However, since my sister is in my classes, she helps me with finding what page we're on and my amazing dexterity allows me to find that page quickly."

"Seems like you two work well together."

"Eh, she busts me out of trouble quite a bit. I got in trouble a lot when I was lived with my dad and when my mom was still in the picture."

Johnny looked out the window towards the front of the cafe where that he car she said looked familiar was. Brittany wanted to grab his hands that were just across on the table. However, she wanted to press a different matter.

"I remember your father talking about the resent you showed him which ended with you moving out into that house you're living in now. Was it something linked to the divorce of his wife?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how to explain it or if I want to explain it."

"You don't have to. I just feel like it's something worth pressing if it may affect your role as the Chosen One."

Johnny tapped his foot as he leaned back, "I guess so," Johnny took one massive sigh before starting, "I hadn't known much about Iprionia until only 2 weeks ago. However, I felt like my mother and father sort of had a disagreement about me being the next Chosen One."

"How so?"

"Well, uh," Johnny looked around as people was staring at them, "Let's not talk here. Too many people around to talk about my family drama," Before Brittany could say anything else, their gems started to glow.

"Uh oh, looks like we have a problem at hand. We'll have to wait afterwards Johnny."

"Yeah. Let's head off to the alley next to the cafe," Brittany nodded as the two started to run out the cafe. However, as soon as they ran out the cafe, they ran into someone that Johnny knew well.

"Oh, sorry ma'am," Brittany apologized, "Come on Johnny," However, Johnny didn't move from where he was as he just stared at the woman, "Johnny, come on!" Brittany grabbed his wrist, but he yanked it away, "Johnny?"

Johnny stared at the woman and stared her up and down before looking at the car he had seen earlier. He looked the woman in the eyes as she smiled at him, "Mom?"

Brittany's eyes widened before yelling, "Huh?!"

In Iprionia, Jeanne was already rushing to Alicia, but saw no signs of Johnny or Brittany, "Princess, where's my brother and Blondy?"

"I have no clue. I pinged them and I felt them respond. However, they have yet to be here."

"Let me see if I can get to them," Jeanne pressed her gem and started talking, "Johnny! Blondy! Come on!"

In front of the cafe, Brittany watched as Johnny was happily talking to who seems to be his mother and heard Jeanne's voice, "Jeanne?"

"Who else could it be Blondy..."

"Can you please cut it out with the nickname?"

"Nah, it fits you. Anyway, where are you? Johnny's not answering either," Brittany looked over at Johnny who almost didn't even realize Jeanne was talking. Either that, or he was tuning her out, "I'll just assume Johnny's with you. What's going on?"

"Jeanne, what does your mother look like?"

"Why?"

"Just answer please..."

"Fine. Uh, she has shoulder length light-brownish hair tied into a tight bun. She usually wears those weird mom jeans and she always wears a INC leather jacket that's custom made for her. It's purple," Brittany looked over at the woman and she matched the features Jeanne explained, "Also, she has a big rack."

"Uh...," Brittany looked over and she did indeed had large breasts, "I think Johnny is talking with his mother?"

"Huh? That's impossible. After our parents divorced, she left town and went to go live somewhere else. How can she back in town? She has no reason to be there."

"Does she know about Iprionia?"

"Uh, yeah. She's the main reason Johnny never took the reigns as the Chosen One."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, nobody told you as you were already our dad's companion. But yeah. Johnny wasn't the Chosen One because of our mother. Blondy, is she driving a gray dodge challenger?"

"Uh," Brittany looked over and saw a dodge challenger close to the entrance, "Yeah..."

"Oh my god," Jeanne looked over at Alicia and said, "Our mother is back in our city?"

"Wait, you mean..."

"This could end badly," Jeanne held her chin and snapped her fingers, "Princess, what's the problem?"

"We have bandits that are repeatedly attacking a nearby village. I'm sure you can handle it on your own, but if you'd like, I'm sure Ladislas and the twins would like to join."

"I'll see," Jeanne pressed her gem again and said, "Brittany, you're going to have to separate them somehow. I'm sure he's tuning us out or even took off his necklace to hide it. He won't know, so just try to get them away from one another."

"Hey, you called me by my name."

"Did I? Sorry Blondy..."

"It was nice while it lasted..."

"Just get on it," Jeanne looked over at Alicia and nodded, "I'll get on the mission. Blondy will handle the mother situation," Jeanne pressed her gem once more to put on her equipment. She ran off while saying, "Don't screw this up Blondy..."

Brittany took a deep breath and walked back over to Johnny. Johnny's mother caught this and smiled at her, "I wanted to ask, but who is this Johnny? Is she your girlfriend?"

Brittany jumped and blushed as she asked this, "U-Uh... I-I'm just..."

"Nah, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend from school."

"Aw, I thought you were finally gonna have one since you haven't had one since I last saw you."

"And I haven't yet since you've been here."

"I don't know. She seems like your type. Ponytail, cute face, and... no. I won't embarrass you here in front of her."

"She knows what I like about her. I told her already."

"And you have yet to date her? I taught you better Johnny."

"I've only known her for 2 weeks."

"Still, you two look like you've known each other... for ages," Johnny's mother shot a glare at Brittany which sent shivers down her spine.

_"Does she know I was her ex-husband's and Johnny's companion?"_

"Would you like to introduce yourself sweetie?" His mother asked, "If he ever does make a move, I would like to know my future daughter-in-law's name."

"M-My name's Brittany."

"Hehe,  **I figured that** ," Johnny's mother said this with such a demeaning tone that Johnny seemed to have been deaf to. Brittany was now almost cowering in fear of Johnny's mother, "Well, my name is Elaine. I don't think Johnny has felt comfortable talking about what happened between myself and his father."

"Actually, I was about to explain to her about how it all came to be. From my point of view that is. But I don't wanna ruin my reunion with you."

"Johnny...," Brittany started. However, she saw that Elaine stared at the necklaces on her neck and around Johnny's neck, "He still has his..."

"Johnny, I see that you and Brittany have matching necklaces. They look very similar to the one your father gave you, his sister, and your own sister."

"Uh, mom," Johnny started, "Did you leave because you didn't want me to become the Chosen One?" Johnny looked at Brittany and nodded. He talked to her through telepathy,  _"I heard the conversation between the two of you. I'm curious now because of that. I'll press the issue. Don't say anything. If she comes after you, I'll come after her back"_

"Where did you hear about that sweetie? What kinda anime are you watching now?"

"It's not an anime mom. This is real. Did you, or did you not prevent me from being the Chosen One?"

"Johnny I..."

"Answer me!" Johnny yelled. Elaine bounced her left leg and Johnny nodded, "Don't answer. I know you did now."

"Johnny, I had my reasons!"

"What were those reasons? My safety?"

"Yes! I just couldn't stand the thought of you going to Iprionia and possibly dying!"

"Mom, I've already taken my role as the Chosen One."

"I know. I can tell."

"My necklace, right?"

"Yes, it's the first thing I noticed when I saw you. When Brittany walked up, I noticed it. However, I knew who she was already. She became your father's companion 3 years after our divorce, but I heard about her. Johnny..."

"Mom, I've already stepped in and accepted my role as the Chosen One. I've already been to and from Iprionia with Jeanne and Brittany here. There's nothing you can that will stop me from doing my job."

"Nothing right?"

"Yeah."

"Need I remind you that I'm still your mother. I say that you need to stay home and let your companions handle it. That's why they're your companions."

"I'm not abandoning Brittany and my own sister mom!"

"That's not my problem. You're not going to Iprionia and that's final!" Elaine reached for Johnny's necklace with such tremendous speed that it caught Johnny off guard. However, Johnny was able to grab her wrist and prevent her from grabbing it, "Johnny Anthony One!"

"Anthony?" Brittany asked.

"I don't like it either. Brittany, let's go to Iprionia!" Brittany nodded and pressed her gem, sending her to Iprionia.

"Don't you dare Johnny...," Elaine threatened, "You better not."

"I'm sorry mom. As much as I love and miss you," Johnny closed his eyes and shot a glare at her, "I have a job to do."

"Johnny don't you...!" Before she could say anything else, Johnny pressed his gem, sending him to Iprionia now too, "No! Johnny!" Elaine grabbed the space Johnny was just at and looked around. Nobody had seen anything or if they did, they didn't want to step in.

Elaine shook her head and reached into her purse. She pulled out the same necklace that Johnny, Jeanne, and Brittany had, "I promised myself I wouldn't go back to Iprionia, but...," Elaine shook her head and yelled, "Ah!" Elaine put the necklace on and pressed it, "Don't worry Johnny. I'm on my way!" Elaine was soon teleported away to Iprionia.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Brittany were already riding off to the nearby village, "Jeanne!" Johnny yelled as he pressed his gem.

In the village, Jeanne took out a large group of bandits and responded quickly to Johnny, "Big bro! Are you on your way?"

"Yeah, both Brittany and I are on the way."

"How'd you...?"

"I have the feeling I'm on mom's bad side now, but that's not the point right now. How's it looking there?"

"It's pretty bad. Half of the village is burnt to the ground and the bandits just keep coming," Jeanne dodged a nearby bandit and took him out, "We could really use your help right now."

"We're already on the way. We'll be there soon. Just hold out as long as you can. Alicia had already told us that Ladislas and the twins were assisting you. Just try your best to hold them off until we get there, okay?"

"Got it!"

Johnny took his finger off his gem and looked back at Brittany. They nodded at each other and they started to ride off faster. In the distance, Elaine had her finger pressed against her gem while she was on a horse. Her armor consisted of white elaborate armor with a cape going down her back. In her hand, a war trident that sported a red blade and a black rod with a bow and a quiver on her back

Elaine looked down at her trident and sighed, "I haven't been here in 6 years. Now is as a good as time as any. I will do anything to protect my son!" Elaine now rode over towards the village Johnny and Brittany were heading.

Johnny and Brittany arrived to see the destruction of the village, "Damn it," Johnny observed the village and nodded, "Brittany, I want you to hold back the bandits. I'm gonna go find Jeanne."

"Right!" They both rode ahead to their jobs.

Johnny rode at lightning speeds while a group of bandits were ready to fight him off. He whistled and nodded to his horse. Johnny slowly stood on his horse before leaping off of it and landing right in the middle of the bandits, taking out just over half of them.

He looked at the closest one to him and roundhouse kicked them before slicing behind him taking out three more. He elbowed behind him, sending one of them back into a group. Johnny proceeded to twirl his spear around and taking out more bandits with ease.

Elaine had arrived at this moment and was amazed at how well he fought, "I hadn't known he was so good at fighting. Oh what am I saying? It's in his blood," However, the more she watched, the more it impressed her, "He is fighting better than it just being gifted to him..."

Meanwhile, Johnny had broke free from the bandits and ran into the village, "Jeanne!"

Jeanne heard her name being called and turned towards it, "Johnny!" A bandit tried to hit her, but she ducked underneath and used her spear to vault her over them. She ran towards her brother's voice while yelling back, "Johnny!"

"Jeanne!" They both soon saw each other and they both smiled at one another. However, both started to wind up a hit and Jeanne ducked while Johnny jumped over her. Both of them proceeded to take out multiple bandits before meeting each other back to back, "Good to see you in one piece sis."

"I'm glad to see you here and not with mom."

"Things are gonna get awkward now. I don't even know why she's here in the first place."

"We'll deal with that situation after our current one. Where's Blondy?"

"Jeanne. I told you to call her Brittany."

"No..."

"Jeanne...," Johnny looked at her from the corner of his eyes and she sighed, "You'll have to accept her eventually. She's finally showed her true colors at school. Give her a chance."

"She might have won you over Johnny, but you need to understand that she's trying to get to you."

"Is there a problem with that? So what?"

"She might start dating you!"

"Is that what you're worried about?!"

"Well, when you date, you focus on nothing but who you're dating..."

"Oh my god. Have you been making the girls I've been dating break up with me?!"

"No... only the last 4 you dated..."

"Jeanne!" Johnny turned to Jeanne, but instantly elbowed behind him and ducked for Jeanne to stab a bandit behind him. They both stood up and looked at each other, "Do you know what that does to someone's self-esteem?!"

"What do you mean? They must've told you a reason."

"No! They were extremely vague about why. They would break up with me and run away before I could ask why! You've been ruining my love life!" Johnny turned around and took out 4 more bandits.

"I did it because I didn't want anyone to have you!" Jeanne did the same as Johnny before facing her back to him, "I was always afraid of losing you to a girl who doesn't even like you."

"You don't know that. Every girl I've ever been made me happy. When they just up and break up with you that messes with your head."

"But Johnny."

"No. No more. We have a job to do. Let's just finish it," Johnny ran off leaving Jeanne alone in anger and sadness.

In the distance, Elaine watched the whole escapade in shock, but she soon started chuckling, "So she's afraid of losing Johnny too. Albeit for a different reason, we both don't want to lose him...," She then thought back for a short second and scratched the back of her head, "Maybe the reason isn't all too different..."

Meanwhile, Brittany took out loads and loads of bandits, "This village is lost. We need to get the villagers out of here...," Brittany looked behind her at the burning village and glared at the bandits, "First the Darkness and now bandits! Can't the people in this world live in peace!" A bright red aura exploded out of Brittany. Her hair turned a snow white color while her eyes had a fire red hue to it.

Bolts of red lightning surrounded her while multiple versions of her copied her every movement. The bandits stood back in fear while Johnny watched on from a distance, "Whoa, there's a lot of stuff I don't know about myself and my companions."

Jeanne looked on and puffed her cheeks, "How did she unlock her rage first?"

"People like you ruin beautiful worlds like this! Why can't you leave the villagers alone!" With every hit from her tonfas, fireballs shot out and explosions followed afterwards, "All of you will pay for causing harm to these villagers!"

"She's gonna kill herself," Johnny softly stated, "I'm not gonna let that happen," Johnny took out 3 of the bandits before sprinting towards Brittany, "Brittany!" Brittany didn't listen as she continue to cause more destruction than the bandits were, "Damn it! Listen to me!"

"That girl is gonna kill my son," Elaine watched on as she took the bow from her back and an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at Brittany, "Just one shot to her skull...," Elaine traced Brittany's head while she attacked and she took a deep breath.

Jeanne saw Elaine and was partially shocked, "Mom? Who is she...?" She looked over at her target and shook her head, "She's trying to kill Blondy, but why?" She looked between the two and thought about the consequences, "If she kills her, that would be one less person my brother could possibly date, but that would also make him mad. Along with one less companion. What do I do?!" Jeanne looked back and forth continuously, "Ugh! Screw it!" Jeanne ran towards her mother and prepared to knock her out the way.

"Brittany! Calm down or... or...," Johnny stopped and thought about something that would gain her attention. Only one thing came to mind and he sighed, "We can't finish our date today..."

"Huh?!" Brittany instantly snapped out of her rage-like trance and looked at Johnny, "D-Date? I-It was a date...?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Huh?!" Elaine and Jeanne exclaim in unison. Elaine heard Jeanne and looked at her, "Jeanne. What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from putting an arrow in Blondy's head!"

"Blondy?"

"I refuse to call her by her actual name."

"W-Well, she was gonna end up killing my Johnny..."

"Your Johnny?! That's your son!"

"Y-Yeah but not anymore..."

"That doesn't justify anything!"

Johnny and Brittany watched Elaine and Jeanne argue back and forth while the bandits were beginning to retreat, "That's your mother huh?"

"I guess. Didn't think she would follow us here," Johnny looked down at Brittany who finally met his glance. She didn't break away like she usually did, but she was tempted to, "You look like you wanna look away. Look, I only said that so you wouldn't risk destroying what's left of the village. I'm sorry if it gave you the wrong idea."

"I understand. I know you wouldn't want to date someone like me."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Jeanne told me..."

"Jeanne is just clingy. She's just afraid I'll forget about her when I get a girlfriend or get married. I've dated the rainbow. However, you are very unique. Girls like you only exist in the light novel world. You're rare."

"S-So you mean...?"

"Now hold on there cowgirl. We still our job here in Irpionia to do. Whether this is some weird isekai setup or not, we have our duties here first. Once things die down a bit or if we get a break then maybe, just maybe we can officially go out and have a date."

"Is that a promise?"

"I'm not good at keeping those..."

"Well, at least..."

"Look, if you keep up what you're doing and not go back to how you were when we first met then I'll still consider it. Remember, there is a homecoming dance next month. Try and keep the real you up until then and I'll definitely consider you a date."

"Mhm!" Brittany happily smiled while Elaine and Jeanne continued arguing in the distance.

Moments later, Johnny sat with his two companions and his mom across from him in the main imperial council room, "So mom, I now understand that you didn't want me to come here and take my role as the Chosen One. I also understand that this caused a drift between you and our dad."

"I just didn't want you to suffer the same fate as the ancestors that disappeared or died. Chosen Ones aren't immortal."

"I understand that, but if you saw me earlier, I can handle myself. In fact, if you saw me my first day, I forced over 100, 000 Darkness soldiers to retreat all on my own. That alone should give you thought how well I can handle myself."

"Because, that's only against foot soldiers. There are many tougher enemies along the way. Even then, that's only from what I had known when I was here 6 years ago. Jeanne, Brittany, have things changed?"

"Yes," Brittany started, "The Darkness have been getting smarter in their tactics. Just recently, they nearly took out a village when they used a holding attack. We have nothing on any of their elite soldiers, but we can assume that they will be a problem in the future."

"That's the all more reason to not do this Johnny."

"Mom, I've already made my decision. As I've already done my role here to the best of my ability."

"Well," Elaine crossed her legs over and leaned on her arm, "since there's no changing your mind, I guess I'll step into my role as the third Chosen Companion."

"Huh?!" Everyone yelled.

"Hehe," Elaine had a very bright smile on her face as she started to wiggle her necklace, "I was your father's previous companion."

"What number?"

"I was his 5th companion and stuck around until our divorce of course."

"So now you're my companion?" Johnny asked inciting a nod from his mother, "Is that how it works?"

"Hehe," Brittany and Jeanne scratched the back of their heads and whistled while he sighed, "To be honest, we don't know."

"But mom..."

"Nope! As my final order as your mother, I want you to start addressing me as Elaine."

"Not gonna happen," Johnny instantly responded, shocking his mother immensely.

"So quick to refuse," Elaine cleared her throat and looked at the two girls, "As for the two of you, I hope you two have been properly supporting Johnny. However, I'll need you two to step away as I'll be his first hand support in everything. He. Needs."

Elaine used some type of magic to push the girls away and hug Johnny's arm while specifically using her large bust to cushion his arm. Johnny had no reaction as he looked down at his mother, "I'll say this is sexual assault if you keep pressing your breasts against my arm like that."

"Mmm...," Elaine reluctantly let go of Johnny's arm as the two girls sat up rubbing their heads in pain, "Johnny isn't as nice as he used to be..."

"Oh hush up. If you don't want to be my mom anymore, I'll treat you the same I treat those two," Johnny stood up and helped the two up, "Now, we have to figure how I'm finally gonna learn magic. It's been two weeks and I have yet to learn a lick of magic."

"Why don't we all help you. I'm sure we're all proficient in different types of magic," Brittany started, "I can help with any illusion magic if you'd like Johnny."

"I'm sure Johnny would love to learn that," Jeanne sarcastically added, "What he  _wants_  to learn is some good speed magic. Nothing better than being faster than your enemy!"

"Now girls, you two don't have the experience I do, and I can say that power enhancing and psychic magic can turn the tide of a battle in seconds. Since I am more experienced, I get first dibs!" Elaine reached out and attempted to grab Johnny, but he instantly sidestepped her. This sent her crashing face first onto the floor, "Mmm...," Elaine started to rub her nose as small trickles of blood fell from it, "Johnny's mean..."

"Why are you acting like you're 14 years old?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"You're 35!"

"How do you know that?!"

"Johnny held up his phone and opened up his calender, "Here, on September 29th it says: Mom's 36th birthday. I celebrate your birthday every year. Even when I moved out."

"You moved out! That's illegal!"

"I'm doing a lot of illegal stuff."

"You're doing drugs?!"

"No! I'm driving without a permit and I'm living on my own. That is all I'm willing to confess."

"Wait, you said that's all you're willing to confess. There's more?!" Jeanne exclaimed.

"Nothing too concerning... uh... ostrich!" Johnny pointed over at a corner of the room and indeed, there was an ostrich statue.

"Did he just notice that? Why'd he have to point it...," Everyone turned around to see that Johnny had already teleported away, "Johnny!" Johnny was already in his car on his way back to his house.

"There's no way in hell I'm dealing with their rage. I'll deal with it another time..."

Later that night, Johnny was taking a ladder from his shed to the side of his house. He made sure it wouldn't buckle under him before he started to climb it. One he stepped onto the roof, he looked to the sky and took out his phone, "I need to talk to Jeanne about... being able to talk through our gems."

The phone rang for a few seconds before Jeanne picked, "Yeah Johnny?"

"Jeanne, there's something I need to know our gems."

"And that is?"

"How were we able to talk to each other. I know it was through our gems, but how? Is there some sort of special requirement for this. Because Brittany was worried about not having a proper way to contact me, so I had to give her my phone number. If she knows about this whole gem communication thing, then why was she worried about such a thing?"

"She's trying to get close to you idiot...," Jeanne sighed before continuing, "I swear, you are the densest person I know."

"Just answer my question."

"Fine. The requirement isn't too severe. The gems are specifically for contact with those in Iprionia. So if at least one of us is in Iprionia, we can all contact one another. Since I was in Iprionia earlier, I could talk to the both of you."

"Oh, okay. Makes sense."

"Johnny, Brittany and I had a girl to girl conversation after you ditched us earlier."

"Are you two getting there?"

"She's more tolerable than mom, so yeah."

"I see. So what did you two talk about?"

"She wanted permission to date you when the time came."

"That uh... seems like something she wanted in secret."

"Yeah, well, I didn't say we were seeing eye to eye."

"What did you say."

"Well," Jeanne sounded almost defeated as she explained, "I told her that she couldn't ask you out. However, if you asked her out, I would allow it."

"You're not here to dissuade me from asking her out are you?"

"No, it's why I sound defeated right now. Look, Johnny. I'm sorry for ruining your past relationships. I just didn't want you to completely forget about me. I didn't think I was getting super attached the way I was. Still, I don't trust or like Brittany."

"Why?"

"Her instant 360 Friday just sends weird vibes to me. I think she's trying to purposely get close to you."

"I think that's more mom than her."

"Yeah, I can agree with that. I say we check them both just in case. We can't be too trusting now."

"Alright, if you're really worried, I'll do my best to try and not get too trustworthy of everyone. By the way, I'm visiting the villager and her daughters this weekend. Wanna come?"

"Sure, but why are you going?"

"I went to Iprionia yesterday and the villager came up to me saying that his youngest daughter, Usami, fell ill. He says that Maiko needs help retrieving some ingredients for some medicine. He also said she would make some for us as thanks for saving them before."

"Oh, okay."

"Alright, well, get some sleep now okay? I'm still your older brother, so make sure you get enough sleep for school tomorrow."

"Fine. Good night big bro."

"'Night sis...," Both of them hung up as Johnny continued staring at the sky, "I should've asked her about Brittany going crazy earlier. Eh, I'll ask her Friday," Johnny stretched as he slid off the roof and landed in the drive way, "Time to go to bed. No need to just accidentally fall asleep on the roof..."

-Epilogue-

"That was quite the chapter huh?" Johnny stated while putting down his phone onto his coffee table, "Definitely a twist now that our mom is in the fray huh?"

"Yeah, but I don't think her just taking the role as your Chosen Companion works that way," Jeanne added, "Even if she was dad's former companion, she dropped her job when they divorced. It just doesn't work that way."

"A lot of things that have happened shouldn't work that way though," Brittany started, "Think about it. Ladislas sent both you and himself from your house to Slime Plains. However, when my arm was wrapped around yours, you didn't teleport with me. Tell me how that's suppose to work."

"I think the writer is just confused on where to take this story...," Johnny added.

_Hey, I know exactly what I'm doing. I have years of story writing under my belt._

"And how many of those were masterpieces?" Johnny questioned.

_No story can truly be a masterpiece, but I do admit that they all weren't exactly... the best._

"Percentage?" Jeanne added.

_Huh?_

"How many, in percent, weren't the best?" Jeanne explained, "What are we talking here? 30, 40?"

_Uh, ahem... at least 80%..._

"What?!" She exclaimed, "Are those including chapters you've actually released?"

_Yeah..._

"Hahaha! That's priceless!"

_Hey, I hit a lot of walls when I write..._

"How thick are those walls? Hahaha!" Jeanne continued to laugh her heart out while making fun of... the author.

_Dude, this is going too far. Why am I making fun of myself...?_

"Jeanne, you're being too rough on him," Brittany stood up from the couch they were on and started to walk.

_Wait, what?_

A dark silhouette appeared and looked, "Why am I the generic black blob that sits in the background of anime?!"

"Don't worry. You're still loved here," Brittany started to pet the black silhouette, "You give us life."

"I thought this would feel nice, but it just feels weird. But Brittany...," The author sat and looked at Brittany, "You are my goddess. Best girl confirmed."

"Uh, dude, isn't she suppose to be in my harem?" Johnny questioned.

"Yeah..."

"Oh well, let's finish off this first epilogue. Thank you for tuning in and stay tuned for the next chapter!"

**_The Sick Maiden's Sister!_ **

_Hey, that was pretty good you guys._

_**Thanks!** _


	6. The Sick Maiden's Sister

Once Friday rolled around, Johnny and Jeanne started to make their way to the villager's house. However, Jeanne were more taken back by how bad the houses got the closer they got to the house, "Was it always this bad Johnny?"

"I don't know. When I brought Maiko and her sister back here, it was just as bad. This is just heinous. The neglect shown to these lesser fortunate villagers makes me..."

"Johnny..."

"Sorry, I know Alicia's parents and their parents before have too much on their hands to ensure that every citizen makes a proper income. Still, this is a little excessive...

"I'm sure her family would want to try their best, but with how dangerous the Darkness could be, that could prove to be impossible."

"It makes me want to stop the Darkness right here and now, but that's not possible. If I'm correct, aren't the other regions around the capitol at each other's throats or something?"

"Yeah, the tensions are rising due to the constant of threat of the Darkness."

"Hmph, I told Alicia that they just need some diplomacy. I think that's where the three of us come into play. Mostly you, but right now, let's focus on helping Usami."

"You're not attracted to them are you?"

"Really? Jeanne, where did you get that?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie, they looked very pretty for girls in the lower class."

"I'm sure Maiko is older than you and I. Usami is possibly our age, but we can't assume okay? Besides, I'm sure our cultures would intertwine with one another."

"Still, you're a ladies' man..."

"Aren't I suppose to enjoy being and making love to woman in order to be a ladies' man? I'm not a womanizer either because I'm not in a relationship in order to be one."

"Mmm," Jeanne pouted at Johnny who sighed and turned away.

"Whatever," Johnny knocked on the door and the door opened to reveal the villager, "Merilith, it's good to see you again."

"Thank you Johnny. Please come in," Johnny walked in with Jeanne standing in confusion.

"Merilith?" Jeanne followed them inside questioning how well he knows these people.

"Usami fell ill about a week after you saved them. We've tried just normal remedies, but she hasn't gotten better. Maiko decided to head off to Saghurst Plains in order to retrieve some ingredients for a very powerful medicine that we're willing to give in case you might catch an illness."

"I understand. I'm ready to head off whenever Maiko is ready. Jeanne is here as well to offer some extra assistance."

"I see. Thank you again Johnny. You are too kind to my family."

"Seeing as how bad it is in the lower class...," Johnny shook his head and sighed, "We'll be outside. Just tell we're ready," Johnny left the house with Jeanne bowing before Merilith and leaving.

"Johnny, what happened?"

"Look, I don't like this part of the capitol anymore than you do. I just know it's worse outside these walls. This feeling just doesn't sit well with me. All we're here for is to combat the Darkness. We can't do anything to help them. It's why I wanted to do this odd job. These people have no one to stand up for them. Nobody out here cares for them. Their own army that's paid to protect them doesn't care about them and treats them like dirt. Whatever little I can do, I'll do it without question."

"Wow..."

"I'm sorry if that sounded too sappy. It's just how I feel."

"No, I understand. It's fine Johnny."

The door opened behind them to reveal Maiko wearing a rather beautiful sun dress. Johnny didn't want to admit it, but she looked amazing in it. Jeanne noticed this and attempted to slap the back of his head, but he sidestepped her.

"H-Hi Johnny... Jeanne," Maiko bowed to the both of them while fixing her dress and her basket, "I'm sure Johnny has explained why we're heading out today."

"Yeah, what are the ingredients you need?"

"I need a handful of Mellow Basil, Fleamuflower, and a handful of Basil Nuts."

"Is that going to be where we're going?"

"The Basil Nuts and the Fleamuflower will be, but the Mellow Basil will need to be purchased in the marketplace."

"I see. May I see your basket Maiko?" Johnny kindly asked.

"Sure, but what are you gonna do?"

"Just a sec...," Johnny took a deep breath and his hand started to glow blue, "Xuplicate!" The basket glowed the same color before splitting into 3 similar baskets, "Alright, now we have one for each of us."

"Huh?"

"I thought we could carry the load so you wouldn't the only to carry stuff. Plus, we could help find some of your ingredients."

"Oh, but you don't need to do that Johnny..."

"It's my pleasure Maiko. Let's get going. The faster we get the ingredients, the faster your sister can get her medicine and get better."

"Right!" Johnny walked off with Maiko following close behind. Jeanne gripped her basket fiercely when she saw the two smiling at one another.

"She's suppose to look poor. Why does she look like she has money?"

Moments later, the 3 arrived at the plains and Johnny stood amazed at the plains as he walked around for a short moment to take it in, "You definitely don't get this in our city. This is awesome!"

"It is amazing isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Johnny, do you need help figuring out what they need look like and how to properly pick them?" Maiko softly asked.

"Yeah, I've never done anything like this before. I would very much appreciate it if you would."

"No problem. Jeanne, would you like any assistance?"

"Uh, no thanks. I know how to do this."

"Oh, okay. Well, Johnny, what you wanna do is..."

Jeanne walked off with her basket in hand and staring at the ground, "Johnny always has girls around him. However, ever since his last break up in middle school, he never pursues anyone. This is directly my fault. I'll be the reason my brother never marries and I'll be the reason the Chosen One bloodline will be cut. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with him. I don't love him like that..."

"Oh, so it depends on how hard the nuts are. The harder, the more rich they are."

"Yeah. However, these are harder to pick because at this point, they're really implanted into the ground. I don't think that'll be a problem for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I know you are very strong Johnny."

"Uh, thanks."

Jeanne watched from the corner of her eye while she continued picking the ingredients, "Johnny is a real sucker for those shy ones, but he also said he likes girls like Brittany. Johnny doesn't discriminate all too much. He even says he likes girls that's like that Pam girl. He never said anything about girls like me...," Jeanne shook her head and went back to picking, "What am I saying? I don't love my brother like that. I'm just really attached to him..."

"Johnny, can you help me pull this out?"

"Huh?" Jeanne stiffened up as she heard Maiko asked this.

"Oh come on Maiko. I'm sure you can do it without a problem."

"But my hands are starting to hurt. Can you take the lead?"

"Fine. Don't stiffen up though. I don't want to hurt you."

"Mmm...," Jeanne blushed as she shook her head, "Why do they make it sound so sexual?"

About an hour later, their baskets were full of the ingredients they needed, "We have quite a bit. Did we need this much?"

"In case either one of my family members get sick again, it'll be good to have enough to supply us."

"I see. What about you Jeanne? Do you know anything about making medicine?"

"No, I've only really focused on combat and diplomatic needs."

"I see..."

"One thing I wanna press is how you spoke Iddarian. How? Nobody has taught you magic at all or other languages yet?"

"I wouldn't say nobody..."

"Huh?"

"Hehe..."

"I'd like to know how you spoke my language Johnny," Maiko questioned, "Iddarian is my language and the Iddarin's are my people. How do you know about that Johnny?"

"Elaine sort of helped me learn some psychic magic. The Iddarian Duplication spell was the first one I learned and mastered. Just thought to use it for this job."

"I don't like how you call our mother by her first name."

"It's better than calling her mom in my opinion."

"Elaine was a former companion. Has she returned?"

"Sort of. We're still trying to figure out how this whole situation should be worked out."

"Can't a Chosen One have up to 5 companions if the situation presents itself?" Maiko questioned, "I remember one having 5 one time, but that might've only been a rumor to make the the Chosen One seem a little more dangerous."

"I have no clue," Johnny answered, "I'm still new to this whole thing, so don't come to me about those questions."

"I have no idea either. I wasn't brought up too much on this whole Chosen One stuff. I hate to say this, but Blondy might have the answer we're looking for."

"Probably. Anyway, Maiko, I do think we have to head to the marketplace in order to get the last ingredient you need, right?"

"Yes. Let's drop these ingredients off first before we buy them."

After they had dropped the ingredients off, they went on to the marketplace in order to buy the final ingredient, Mellow Basil. Maiko stood in front of one of the street vendors that held many herbs that differed in color and size. Maiko spotted a few bowls of the basil she needed and called on the vendor manager, "Excuse me, how much is it for a bowl of Mellow Basil?"

"They're 30 Silver Pieces each."

"30?! They were 10 just the other day."

"I'm sorry, but when they increased the tax to 5000 Silver Pieces, I had to raise prices. I'm sorry. They're 30 Silver Pieces."

"I only have 15..."

"Hm," Johnny placed a finger on his chin and shook his head, "It would be wrong for me to duplicate them. I don't have funds. What about you Jeanne?"

"I only have 50 Copper Pieces. That only comes out to 5 Silver Pieces. She would be short 10 Silver Pieces."

"Damn...," Johnny looked around for a scapegoat, but he was at an impasse.

Near them, they heard someone call out to them, "Johnny, Jeanne? Oh, and Maiko?" Everyone turned around to see Brittany walking towards them with Alicia, "What are you 3 doing here in the marketplace?"

"Princess!" Maiko, the vendor manager and others around them started bow before Alicia, "We didn't know you would come here..."

"Please, raise you heads. Everyone! Raise your heads! When I'm here, I am just like all of you," Alicia sent a smile towards everyone who returned it.

"Whoa," Johnny stood amazed at how she handled the situation, "That was cool Alicia."

"Hehe..., you think so?"

"Yeah, that was an awesome way to handle the situation and show your benevolence."

"Hehe...," Alicia started to twirl her hair while Brittany and Jeanne glared at him, "Anyway, what seems to be the problem?"

"Maiko here needs Mellow Basil in order to make medicine for her ill sister. However, there seems to have been an increase to the prices of them due to an increase in the tax."

"Huh? I never raised the tax. If anything, I lowered the tax."

"But we received word from one of your royal guards that taxes had been raised to 5000 Silver pieces."

"5000?! That is nonsense. I had the taxes lowered to 2500 for store vendors and 500 for those in the lower class."

"I smell some fishy business here," Johnny stated as he looked at the vendor, "Excuse me, but what did this guard look like?"

"He had a scrunchy face with a beard."

"I see. It's that same corrupt guard that denied to help your father Maiko," Johnny placed a hand on Maiko's shoulder sighed, "I never had a good feeling about that dude. We'll have see his intentions everyone. Maiko, you're welcome to join us if you'd like."

"But my sister..."

"I'll see if I can arrange something. Uh," Johnny looked over at Brittany and asked, "Brittany, you said that you knew where Sai was staying. Do you think you could lead us to her?"

"Uh, sure. What for?"

"We'll be having her heal Usami for us."

"Okay..."

"Jeanne, you head on back with her to her house. Watch after them and make sure nothing happens to her while we're gone."

"Right."

"Brittany, show me where she is. Alicia, come with us."

"Alright."

"Wait, bro, why not have Blondy stay with Maiko and her family?"

"No time to argue. Just get going. I hate corrupted people," Johnny ran off with Brittany and Alicia while Jeanne pouted at them.

"Let's go Maiko...," She too ran off with Maiko as Johnny had a plan brewing in his head.

Brittany, Johnny, and Alicia had arrived to a small house just outside the main keep of the castle. They heard a very elegant melody playing from within the house, "Sai?" Brittany questioned.

"Please... come in..."

"Sai...," The three of them walked in to see her playing on her harp, "We need..."

"I know. I will assist you," Sai stood up and looked at the three, "I have observed the guards since I have been here. I know which are corrupted and which are genuinely doing it for their lord. Johnny, I do believe you have a plan to expose who they are, correct?"

"Yup, I was brewing it up when we started walking here."

"Oh? May we here it?"

"No problem," Johnny cleared his throat as he peaked out the door and saw 3 groups of guards walking forward towards the marketplace, "Hmph. There's something on our realm known as the 36 Stratagems. Set mostly back towards Ancient China, this one stratagem isn't really necessary for what we're using it for, but I'm an ambitious person..."

"What is it?" Alicia questioned, "I'm sure we're all willing to go with it."

"Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake."

"Huh?"

"Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake or in other words, Shock and Awe."

"How would we do that? Wouldn't usually be something used for when we're on the offensive rather than for just luring someone out?"

"Well, this can be used to startle an enemy when they have a plot behind them. You do something minor, but enough to gain the attention of your target, or targets, in order for you watch them and take advantage of their confusion. We can't just shout accusations all whilly-nilly. People will begin to wonder if we're just here to cause trouble. We need them to call themselves out."

"Will that work?"

"No clue, but it never hurts to try. It's a risky plan, but I believe with the right execution, it will work."

"It seems the lower class knows how corrupt some of the guards are. However, any of those above have no clue about how corrupt those guards are. They use Alicia's name so that she can take the blame."

"If I were to bet that those corrupt guards are actually soldiers of the Darkness planted into our army. Hm...," Johnny looked over at Brittany and sighed, "Brittany, I want you to discreetly evacuate any of the townspeople away from the marketplace. If there's one, there's bound to be many more. We'll have to gear up for a fight..."

"What about Jeanne?"

"She'll do what she can to protect Maiko in case the fighting gets that far. Besides, I'll handle it. They'll try to take me down, but they know they won't get far."

Moments later, Alicia walked with Johnny who kept looking back at him, "Johnny, are you sure this will work?"

"I'm partially positive. Just stick to the plan and everything will be smooth," Johnny lagged behind near one of the vendors as Alicia was met with one of the guards.

"Milady you must collect the taxes."

"But it's not time to collect them."

"You must've forgotten milady, but you decided to collect taxes today in order to properly pay back the Chosen One."

Close by, Johnny shook his head and groaned, "Damn dude. He's also using my name in order make me sound like the bad guy right in front of that vendor. What an ass...," Johnny's gem started glowing and he pressed against it.

"Johnny," Jeanne spoke, "Do you hear me?"

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

"We need those Basil Nuts as soon as possible. Usami isn't getting any better."

"Have you tried giving her any medicine to ease the illness?"

"Don't you think we've tried that already? Maiko needs those Basil Nuts as soon as possible. Without it..."

"I understand. I'll get onto it. Brittany," Johnny called out.

"Yeah?"

"How's the evacuation coming along?"

"Evacuation?" Jeanne questioned, "What's going on?"

"We're dealing with some corruption. We have a feeling there are some Darkness soldiers within Alicia's army. We're drawing them out."

"Let me help!"

"No, stay with Maiko and her family in case something goes wrong. We can't risk it."

"But..."

"I'm sorry Jeanne, but someone needs to stay with them. I trust you to do the right thing..."

"R-Right..."

"So Brittany, how's it coming along?"

"Most near the entrance have been evacuated. I hope this plan of yours works..."

"I hope so too..."

"Uh, very well then. Ahem," Alicia stepped in front of the vendor and sternly, yet reluctantly asked, "Now, hand over the tax for the month."

"I-I'm sorry milady, but I don't have enough to pay the new tax price. I barely have enough to provide for my family. If you could give me more-," Before the merchant could say anything else, the guard stabbed the stand in front of them sending fear into the merchant.

"How dare you address the princess in such a manner! How dare you demand an order from her! We should have you executed for such actions!"

"This guy is really pissing me off," Johnny pressed his gem to equip his armor and weapon before stepping out, "Milady!" Johnny yelled.

Both the guard and Alicia turned around and Alicia looked relieved that Johnny stepped out, "Hm? Chosen One? Here to personally receive your pay?" The guard questioned, "How cruel of you."

"I don't think that's the case here. I'm here to properly get to the bottom of these taxes. I hear that the taxes were increased because of me, correct?"

"Yes! In order to pay for you services, the princess was forced to heighten the tax to savor your greedy needs."

"Greedy needs? What greedy needs would a 14 year old not even from this world need?"

"U-Uh..."

"You do know the Chosen One's aren't of this world correct?"

"W-Why yes but..."

"Why would I need compensation for doing what I was born to do? Not to mention that I would have no use for the currency here. Yeah, maybe from valuable items, but the currency here would provide no monetary value in my world," The guard growled under his breath and Johnny chuckled, "It seems to me that you spread false rumors to make it seem like the princess and myself were the real bad guys. It also makes it seems like your trying to make the people see a certain other army as the good guys. Hm, I wonder who that could be."

"W-What are you on about? I fight for Alicia and her family. I fight for Iprionia!"

"If that's the case, then why not tell this merchant the real price for the taxes."

"What are you on about?"

"It has come to my attention that rumors were spread that taxes were raised to insurmountable prices causing vendors to increase their prices just to make enough to pay their taxes without even having enough to provide for their own families. Princess Alicia has told me that she actually lowered the taxes so that their could be less stress on the vendors."

"I-I..."

"It seems like someone isn't telling the truth. Someone wants to create chaos from within. It's exactly what a leech would do in an army. A leech... from the Darkness."

"I-I..."

"Try to use another vowel dude..."

"You heathen! You surely don't believe his lies will you milady?"

"I will, and I'll stand by with it!"

"You...!"

"Use something else. You've already been found out. Not only you, but your whole regiment. It's too late to deny any of it..."

"How dare you!" The guard took the sword he had stabbed into the vendor stand and pointed it at Johnny, "You'll pay for this!"

"What did I do?" Johnny questioned.

Not long after, more guards started to surrounded Johnny and Alicia, "Since we've been found out. There's no need to keep this facade up."

"I know this was expected, but how did it lead to this?" Johnny looked around and pushed Alicia behind him, "Just stay behind me. This shouldn't take long," Right as Johnny said this, an arrow flew right past them, "Oh. Uh, looks like we have more problems at hand."

Both of them look towards the guard towers to see archers aiming down at them, "I didn't know there were some of those. Oh no...," Johnny pressed his gem and asked, "Brittany, can you help us here?"

"Problem..."

"What?"

"There were more than one guard unit that were implanted Darkness soldiers."

"Oh damn..."

"Let me help Johnny!" Jeanne ordered.

"No, stay with them. I'm sure this will get worse and I don't want them getting in danger."

"Johnny..."

"I'm sorry, I know you want to help, but we can't risk them getting hurt from these traitors. I'll do what I can to protect Alicia."

"It seems all of you are in a bind," Elaine butted in, "Allow me to handle these bothersome archers for you sweetie!"

"Don't call me that...," Johnny sighed as two of the guards charged at him with their swords. Johnny helped Alicia dodge their attacks before spinning around and taking out the guards, "I would say they could've been quieter, but the armor doesn't help them."

"Silence! We will show you that your Chosen One title is just that. A title!"

"Did they seem to forget the first day I was here. Oh well, Alicia, I'm sorry to ask this, but do you have combat training," Johnny looked down to see Alicia manifest a rapier, "Oh..."

"I have enough combat experience."

"Nice, let's take care of this nuisance," Johnny and Alicia sprung into action while Elaine was in the watch towers taking care of the archers above.

Jeanne was with Maiko and her family with her weapon in hand staring at the door, "Don't worry Maiko. I'll make sure nothing comes in here to harm any of you."

"Jeanne!" Maiko yelled causing her to quickly turn around. Jeanne's eyes widened when she saw that Maiko and Usami's father held Maiko with a sword at her throat, "Father!"

"Shush sweetie."

"Unhand her Merilith."

"Why should I? So you can detain me? No. I tire of this life. The Darkness will treat me better than that princess!"

"Father!"

"I said silence!"

"So you were planning to somehow defect to the Darkness without your daughters' consent?"

"No, they were going to be sacrifices! That's what those bandits were for!"

"But you came to us for help. Why?"

"It was to take you out. We knew there was unrest between you three. We wanted to exploit that and rid you and my daughters. It would pave way for the Darkness!"

"You're nuts if you think you'll just get away with any of this."

"I have nothing to fear. You're only a companion. Anyone and anything can kill you. I'll kill you and deliver my daughters to the Darkness and I'll be renowned as a hero! Stand down you...," Before Merilith could finish his sentence, he was stabbed in the back by Usami herself, "Ack! Us... ami...!" Merilith dropped Maiko as she fell on her back in fear.

She shuffled back towards Jeanne and hid behind her, "Usami..."

"I had to do... what was right...," Merilith fell face first on the ground with Usami's knife still in his back.

"Usami...," Jeanne softly stated, "Maiko, grab your sister and let's get out of here."

"But our father..."

"He only cares about the Darkness. As of now, he's a traitor. We'll deal with him when we help my brother."

"Johnny's in danger...?"

"Yeah, some Darkness soldiers have launched their attack from within. Maiko, I'm sorry to ask, but can you fight?"

"I-I have some experience with...," Maiko slowly stood up and walked over to a closet near them and pulled out two swords and placed a smaller sword on her hip, "these swords. If we're abandoning our house, I'll be taking Usami's weapon."

"Alright, I'll just need you to watch after your sister while we help my brother out."

"Okay, come on Usami...," Usami held her hand out and slowly stood up, "Usami?"

"I'll be fine. I know I don't feel well, but I can do the bare minimum. Let's go help Johnny..."

Meanwhile, Brittany finished off bringing the merchants and other citizens to safety, but she too was surrounded by other soldiers, "This isn't good. Who knew so many people supported the Darkness. I guess the never ending war got 'em. Not to mention Iprionia never gaining a foothold in this continuous war...," Brittany stood back as she was surrounded on all sides by traitorous guards, "I'm going to need some help right away..."

Johnny and Alicia were easily taking out the guards with ease before meeting back to back with one another, "It seems that a lot of people are losing faith and putting that lost faith into the Darkness."

"It makes sense. We haven't gained a foothold in this war since it began. It doesn't surprise me that the people will see distrust after centuries of unrest."

"I think I'll need to show them that I can make a difference or rather, that you can show a difference milady."

"I..."

"After seeing how benevolent you are, I now know that fighting for you is very much worth it. My spear is for your use only milady."

"Thank you. First, let's take care of these traitors," Both them sent their glances at the leader who stepped back in fear.

"G-Go! Kill them! Kill them for your lord!" The leader ordered.

In the watch tower, Elaine watched over the multiple battles as she stood over the archers she had killed, "Mm, he fights well. As he should. However...," She looked over at Brittany who seemed to fought relatively well, but Elaine could see her flaws, "She might have 3 years of experience, but that's not enough. As for Jeanne, she has our blood in her. She'll fight well on her own. However, she's too arrogant for her own good. Hmph, let's go and help them," Elaine disappeared from the watch tower as she snapped her fingers.

Jeanne ran with Maiko helping Usami from falling as they met up with Johnny and Alicia, "Johnny! Princess!"

They both turned around to see them, "What are you doing here? What happened?"

Jeanne took out some of the guards while the leader went off hiding nearby, "Their father...! Was a supporter of the Darkness!"

"Damn it..."

"Is that her sister?" Alicia asked.

"Yes, but I see we have a bigger problem at hand. How about finish off these annoying traitors?"

"My pleasure," They all got ready to fight off the guards.

Meanwhile, Brittany continued to fight off the guards, but she was easily losing ground and growing fatigued from the constant fighting, "Gah, I am a little bit out of my league here..."

"You'll need some help to keep with up with my children," Elaine mysteriously appeared from behind Brittany wielding her trident, "I would help you, but I don't know if you hold the motivation to do so."

"Huh? Elaine?"

"Tell me. Are you motivated to improve yourself for the right reasons?"

"Uh... yes?"

"Don't question your answer. Are you motivated?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Good. I'll help you improve. However, keep away from my son. He's mine."

"U-Uh..."

"I'll help you improve after this nuisance is dealt with."

"R-Right..."

Moments later, Johnny had finished off one group of traitors while Jeanne did the same. Alicia fended off her group while Maiko and Usami did the same. Eventually, it was only the leader that was left.

Johnny walked over to Alicia who had finished off one last traitor and sighed, "Well, there's only one left Alicia. That guy," Johnny pointed over at the guard who started sneaking off, "Where do you think you're going dude?"

"Ah!" The guard turned back and ran away, but was met with Jeanne, "Ah! Get away from me!" He tried to run off again, but Maiko and Usami blocked his escape. He tried to move the other way, but Brittany and Elaine met him once more, "Ah! P-Please! Show mercy!"

"I don't think you can be shown mercy for the treachery we've witnessed today," Johnny stabbed his spear into the ground and started to make his way to him.

However, in the distance, a horse was riding extremely fast towards them, "My lord!" Merilith rode towards them and held his hand out with one his hands with other holding the reigns and his wound, "Grab on!"

The guard quickly took it and Merilith quickly turned and rode away with the guard. Elaine ran ahead and aimed her bow, but Johnny stopped her, "Johnny?!"

"Let them go. Let that be a warning to them. If they come back, I'll kill them," Johnny looked behind him towards Usami and walked over to her, "Usami, you shouldn't have been out here. We need to get you to rest somewhere. Princess, can we bring them somewhere she can get treated at in the castle?"

"U-Uh... sure..."

"Thank you, come on. I'll help you. Princess come with me. The rest of you, make sure none of the citizens were hurt."

"Right..."

In the castle, Johnny was offering Usami his shoulder as they made their way to a room where she could be treated, "Are you fine?"

"I think you can see how I feel..."

"I understand. You kinda irritated it by fighting."

"We helped. Didn't we?"

"I guess. Thank you Usami..."

"I-It's not like we did it..."

"Don't finish that sentence. I already know what you're getting at."

Outside, Sai walked with Jeanne, Brittany, Elaine, and Maiko as she strummed away. However, rather than her usual soft smile, she had a look of worry on her face. Her expression matched her melody as she began to speak, "With this, people will begin to have their doubts. With some many looking to side with the Darkness. Something must be done to prevent this."

"It was easily over 100 guards that betrayed Alicia. Who knows how many more after Maiko's father turned on Alicia," Brittany started. Jeanne looked at Maiko who gripped her sundress fiercely, "Maiko, I know it's too early to ask, but are you thinking of turning your back on Alicia?"

"Now wait a second Blondy!"

"No, she is right," Sai started, "With how close their family was, it wouldn't be surprising to think she's playing the good guy for a plot," Sai stopped playing her harp and walking to turn towards Maiko, "Now Maiko, I want to know your intentions. It's imperative that you tell us whose side you're on."

"I-I..."

"You're freaking her out everyone."

"Jeanne, you of all people should know how dangerous it could be to have someone like her close to us. Your father has made that mistake countless times. It's our duty as companions to know who our allies are..."

"B-But... guys...," Jeanne tried to stop everyone from pestering Maiko, but she was obviously outnumbered.

"Maiko, we need an answer," Sai stepped closer and asked, "Are you, or are you not a threat to Princess Alicia?"

Maiko looked away and took a deep breath, "No, I never knew my father had planned something like that. My only plan today was to seek help for my sister from Johnny. That was all I had planned."

Sai continued staring at her before turning away, "Very well then. I'll believe your story," Maiko sighed in relief while Jeanne patted her shoulder in comfort, but Sai added something, "This doesn't mean I trust you and I believe the same goes for Elaine and Brittany. If you want to be trusted, you must earn it. Now, let us visit your sister."

Moments later, Johnny and Alicia watched as she slept her sickness away, "She's about the same age as us. I didn't think this place would be that bad, but I guess fantasies in my world could be a harsh reality in this one."

"Is there anything bad that goes on in your world?"

"Of course. I do believe that no matter where you are, there will always be civil unrest. It's a cruel reality that we're all forced to live. None of us has to necessarily like it, but what can you do."

"You're quite philosophical about this type of topic. Is there a reason behind it?"

"Not really. I have had time to read up on my history, but I doubt that has effect on me. There's no doubt people have had their own philosophies on the endless war that plagues us. However, I guess some people wouldn't think a 14 year old kid and younger would have something like that on their mind. Most of the time, they're thinking about high school and relationships."

"Do you think this war here in Iprionia and your role will cause your school life to suffer?"

"Without a doubt, but I guess it's the life that was given to me. It wasn't one I chose, but I'll do my best to see it through," They both sat in silence watching Usami until Alicia brought her legs up and proceeded to hug her knees. Johnny looked over and smiled, "Alicia, has anyone ever told you how cute you are?"

"H-Huh? What are you saying?"

"You're very cute. I love your childish actions. It makes you seem like an easier person to talk to. Some people might come to believe that they must speak with respect, but when I'm with you, it feels like I can be relaxed around you. Perhaps that makes you a good leader."

"Oh, well... thank you..."

"However, it can also make you a bad leader?"

"Huh?"

"People will take advantage of that relaxed, benevolent nature of yours. You show no authority. I know I told you to act vulnerable for the plan, but you were genuine," Johnny shot a glance at Alicia who turned away as soon as she met it, "From the minute you walk over there, to the minute we fought. I saw that you were too apprehensive. You aren't abrasive. You're too soft."

"But that's how my family raised me..."

"Which is good, believe me. However, being one with people can still lead to rebellions. You need to show that you won't hesitate to take abrasive actions."

"I don't see myself being able to do that."

"It's not up to me to decide. Whether or not you want to be assertive is completely up to you. I'm just making a suggestion," Johnny leaned back in his chair and glanced at her once more before sighing.

They sat in silence once more until Alicia asked, "So, about school relationships..."

"Hmm?"

"Are you hoping to have one?"

"Of course, but I don't know if it's possible."

"Why do you say that?"

"Apart from Jeanne attempting to cause every girl I date to break up with me, I don't know who is worth the trouble. Brittany is fine, but I don't necessarily trust her yet. I don't know Maiko much either."

"How about me?"

"I don't think it would work. You're royalty. I'm just some kid who barely has his live situated."

"What do you mean?"

"I may seem like a valiant hero here, but at home, I'm dead beat nobody who moved out at an illegal age just because of family drama. I have no money and I barely have any friends at school. I have more enemies than friends and it makes my life a living hell."

"Johnny..."

"Don't feel pity for me. Unlike this second life I lead, I chose that life. I guess it's just a burden on my life."

"Then allow me to bear that burden!"

"Milady, I doubt that's really necessary..."

"No... please. Allow me to...," Johnny pressed a finger on her mouth as he fixed his sitting position, "Huh?"

"Shush..."

Just as Johnny ordered her to shush, the door behind them flew open, "Hey Johnny," Jeanne walked in with the rest of the group and sighed, "How's Usami?"

"She's asleep now. Sai, can you help her for now?"

"Sure thing."

Johnny nodded as he stood up and stretched, "Well I'm beat today. How about the three of us go back home."

"First," Sai started, "Johnny, I'd like for you to talk to Maiko for a short second."

"What for? I can't hangout here all night. I gotta life... no I don't. Uh, I guess I can. I'll talk to her  _alone_ ," Johnny emphasized the word alone as he ushered Maiko to follow him.

"Mmm, we were just getting to the good part...," Alicia hugged her knees again and hid her face of embarrassment.

Outside the room, Johnny leaned on the door so that nobody could open it while they talked, "Maiko, I do understand that you're father was a Darkness supporter. His past action is obvious. However, that means that you're without a home."

"Huh?"

"I know they want me to question you, but I sense nothing about you. Jeanne did tell me to worry about who I trust, but she trusts you as well. If she trusts you, I'll trust you. However, you and Usami have nowhere to live."

"We can go back to our home..."

"But that means your father can still come to catch you. In order to prevent that, I would be fine with allowing you and your sister to live with me."

"H-Huh?!"

"One second," Johnny kicked the door behind him causing a loud scuffle to come from the other side, "I'll look into figuring out how to bring you and your sister with me once Usami feels better. So for now, I'll see if Alicia will allow you to stay here for the time being."

"O-Okay..."

"Ahem...," Johnny cleared his throat as he looked away, "I'm waiting to hear something..."

"O-Oh... thank you...," Maiko gave Johnny a very warm smile and Johnny gave her a warm smile back.

**-Epilogue-**

"That was quite the adventure huh?" Johnny stated as he sat on his couch upside down while throwing a magazine away, "We have our hands full with traitors now. Not to mention that some villagers might side with those traitors."

"Well," Brittany walked in with a mug and started to drink to from it, "I still don't think it was right for you to allow Maiko and her sister to stay with you. They can't be trusted. Didn't your sister say be careful about who you trust easily?"

"I did," Jeanne added as she took a seat beside her brother, "but what harm can she do? Yes, she can fight, but she's too hesitant. Almost like she doesn't want to fight. I believe she just wants what's best for her sister..."

"We're keeping a close eye on her regardless though."

"You two do know she's in my bedroom right now?" Johnny started.

"Huh?!"

"Yeah, I can hear everything that you're saying...," Maiko peaked her out for a short second before heading back on Johnny's roon.

"Wait, you know, you gave me an idea for how I can keep an eye on her properly."

"Johnny, what are you planning."

"You'll see when I say the next chapter name!"

"What are you-!"

"Thanks for reading through our second epilogue!"

"Johnny!"

_**New Student From A Different Realm!** _

"That's not even a good title!"

"Sucks to suck!"


	7. New Student From a Different Realm

Johnny slept on his couch once again and was sleeping relatively well. It was around 2 weeks since the whole traitor ordeal and Johnny has been enjoying his much needed rest. Maiko and Usami walked in wearing something they weren't used to and saw Johnny sleeping, "Johnny needs to wake up," Usami started.

"But he's sleeping so peacefully..."

"Still. We'll be late. One moment Maiko," Usami made her way behind the couch and took a deep breath, "Johnny, wake up!" Usami sprinted and jumped over the couch. Johnny's eyes shot open as he rolled off the couch, "See, it worked."

"Could've just told me to wake up," Johnny slowly stood up as he looked at the clock on the stove, "It's 5:40. We still have time to get ready. Why did the both of you get ready so early?"

"We woke up an hour ago. We're used to waking up early," Maiko explained. She proceeded to look at her clothing and was rather embarrassed.

"What's wrong with your clothes?"

"I have no problems with the blouse, but these pants, jeans I believe you call them are kinda..."

"Are they too tight?"

"A little...," Maiko started to mess around with the jeans and looked away in embarrassment.

"I think they look nice on you Maiko."

"Y-You do?"

"Yeah, but if they're a little uncomfortable..."

"N-No! It's just fine!" Maiko shot a very bright smile towards Johnny who raised an eyebrow before chuckling nervously.

"Well, I'll get ready. You two just settle down and I'll even make breakfast."

"Alright...," Johnny walked past them into the bathroom and Maiko slid onto the couch pressing the bridge of her nose, "That was just..."

"Disappointing?"

"I don't know how to feel living here on Earth. It's so different than Iprionia."

"It's because they're more advance. All of those machines that shuttles people and is controlled by those same people is something Iprionia needs."

"Not to mention some of the items here in Johnny's house. It's very surreal."

"The war in Iprionia prevents our species from evolving as Johnny's species has. If only the war on Iprionia could end, our world would be just like Johnny's..."

"I'm sure one day our world will see that day."

"I hope it's soon..."

* * *

 

After Johnny had finished and they had eaten breakfast, it was now 6:30. Johnny sighed as he got up from the counter and placed his dish in the sink, "Just place your dishes in the sink. I'll be waiting by the front door, so be sure you have everything in your bag before we leave. I'm not turning back."

"Okay..."

Johnny walked off to the front door nearby and took out his phone. Maiko placed her dish in the sink before Usami did so as well, "Will you be fine today sister?" Usami questioned.

"I think so. It's a change of pace, but it's necessary so our father can't comeback and capture us. Until it dies down, we'll be living here with Johnny."

"I'm worried still for when we do go back. Our father wouldn't easily give up on us like that. He won't stop until he has us and Johnny and his friends are dead. He's a soldier for the Darkness."

"Johnny will defeat the Darkness and bring peace back to our realm. He'll do it. I know he will."

"I hope he will..."

Johnny put his phone before spinning his key on his finger, "Time to get going girls. The faster we leave, the faster you can get used to school."

"Okay...," They both followed him out to the car and Johnny leaned on it before he held his hand up, "Maiko, Usami, you're not holding any weapons are you?"

"No," Maiko answered. However, Usami didn't answer as she began whistling, "Usami..."

"I got it Maiko," Johnny snapped his fingers as not only two swords fell into his hands, but a small crossbow and a dagger, "Where'd you even... I'm not gonna question it. In the car you two. Let's go."

* * *

 

Once they started driving off, Maiko stared out the window in amazement. Despite riding in a car multiple times, she was still amazed at what she saw. Usami only leaned on her arm on the door and stared out the window, "How do you girls feel for your first day at my school?"

"Oh... uh," Maiko turned towards Johnny from the back seat and fiddled with her backpack, "I'm nervous. The cultures of Iprionia and Earth are completely different. I won't know how to properly act."

"Don't worry. Most of the time, half of the students don't even know how to properly act. But uh, now that I think about it Maiko..."

"Huh?"

"You're older than me and Usami, so I don't know how you should explain to others that you're two years older than us."

"Would people not believe that I started late?"

"Probably, but some of the smarter kids will catch on that something isn't right. I'm surprised I haven't been found out. Ugh," Johnny tapped the wheel as he looked in the rear view, "We'll deal with it when the opportunity presents itself. If we worry about it now, it'll just stress us out."

"Okay..."

Once they arrived at the school, Johnny stopped them to give them one last piece of advice, "Remember, high school is ruthless to new people. It's even worse when those new people are beautiful girls. A lot of boys will want you. A lot of girls will envy you two and want to be you. Just stay close to me and you'll be fine, okay?"

"Okay...," Maiko responded. However, Usami still looked out the window towards the school.

"Usami?"

"I understand...," She finally responded.

Johnny paused at her reaction, but soon wrote it off as first day jitters. They both stepped out the car and proceeded to make their way to the school. Amongst the cars, both Jeanne and Brittany peaked their heads outs as if they were spying on the three.

"What are you doing here Blondy?"

"Making sure they don't do anything to harm Johnny. What are you doing Jeanne?"

"Making sure he doesn't try anything with them."

"Didn't you say you weren't going to be doing that again?"

"I lied to make him happy."

"That's so wrong..."

"Whatever, at least I'm not trying to win him over by being like him."

"What are you talking about? This is how I am. You should know."

"That was years ago. I know people change. Especially people like you in your family."

"What?!"

Out of nowhere, a rock hit Jeanne's head, bounced off and hit Brittany's head, "Ow...," They say in unison.

"It's kinda hard to hide when you're yelling. Come on you two."

* * *

 

Moments later, Johnny, Maiko, and Usami all stood in the principal's office in front of the principal himself, "So, these two new students," The principal started, "are from where exactly?"

Johnny was about to answer before he looked at the necklace in a display case behind him. Johnny looked around his small office and answered, "I think you should know Principal Rockwell. I see the necklace back there."

"Huh?" The principal turned around and sighed, "Johnny, you know it's very risky for citizens from Iprionia to stay here, right?"

"I know, but as long as you keep them near me and my other two companions, then we'll have no problems."

"I do understand that you've been at ends with some of the football players here. Are you sure they won't prove a problem for them and yourself?"

"That's uh..."

"Johnny, as the Chosen One, you need to think about the outside interferences. I see no point in you still attending school to be honest."

"What?"

"I had meant to ask this weeks ago when I first saw you and your companions teleport to Iprionia. However, I let it sit just to see how it would go. However, now that I see that it may come here to Earth, then you might have to either take time off school or completely drop out."

"It's quite tempting, but I doubt my companions would like that. I promise that they'll be under my watchful eye while they're here. They won't be here long. Only until it dies down a little in Iprionia."

"Die down?"

"I don't know how long it's been since you were a companion, but recently, the people and some of the Iprionian Imperial Army soldiers have lost their faith and are joining the Darkness."

"I wouldn't blame them. The war has gone on for centuries and nothing has been done. A Chosen One can only do so much."

"These two here had their father betray us and attempt to sell them off. However, he got away alive and we're worried he might try to return to kidnap them once more. Until that dies down and the princess finds a place for them in the castle."

"Princess? My god, it has been a while since I've been in Iprionia..."

"How long has it been."

"I'm not sure. I was 16 when I first stepped into my role as a companion. That was nearly 30 years ago. I was there for only 6 years..."

"Why'd you quit?"

"The people we began fighting got stronger. More than we anticipated. I had to step down before it got worse."

"Who's companion were you? It wasn't my father was it?"

"No, it was your grandfather. I never saw his reign through."

"My grandfather. I never met him, but from what I read, he was one of the Chosen One's to have disappeared."

"I heard, but I'm not going back unless I have to."

"That may not be so far from now."

"It's your job to prevent that. Even if I am a companion, I'm much too old to fight."

"With how much faith the people have lost, there's almost nothing I can do. I already saved two villages and the capitol. I even saved them," Johnny pointed over at Maiko and Usami before placing his hands on the principal's desk, "I think they just see me as another Chosen One not able to do anything about the war. Think about it..."

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it. That's up to you. Do you want to end this war?"

"Of course."

"Then you need to work on doing exactly that," The principal reached into his desk and took out a schedule for Maiko and Usami, "At least you called for them. Make sure they get settled in and make sure no trouble comes for them."

"I got it. Don't worry about it. Come on you two," Johnny walked out of his office while Maiko and Usami both bowed before stepping out with him.

"Johnny, are there really so many retired companions here on Earth?"

"I only know of two. That's my mother and now him. I would assume some of Brittany's family and my own. I'm sure their are many others on Earth who are former companions. I would assume it is the same reason the principal and my mother stepped down as companions."

"It makes sense. Companions are only strong enough to support the Chosen One. Since companions are mostly just normal earth dwellers, they don't stay long."

"If only every companion could team up with me and take out the Darkness..."

"That would be ultimately impossible," Usami added, "There are too many out there. I would assume they wouldn't even want to come back. Like your principal said, he's not coming back."

"My mother said the same thing, but there she is helping in Iprionia again. I'm sure there will be a time where they'll be needed. However, that time is not now."

Moments later in class, Maiko and Usami stood in front of the class to introduce themselves, "Well class, I do believe we have some new students in our class. Please introduce yourself young ladies."

"Hello there, my name is Usami. I hope I can make friends with all of you."

Johnny didn't pay attention as he was already staring out the window while they introduced themselves.

"Hi, m-my name is Maiko. I'm Usami's sister. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Those girls are cute," One of the male students stated.

"They're way out of your league. I'm sure one of the football players are gonna nab 'em up for sure," Another student added.

"That won't be happening," Johnny softly uttered. He turned towards them and tapped his desk as he laid back, "Nobody will lay a hand on them. I'll make sure of that."

* * *

 

Later at lunch, Johnny walked into the lunch room with Maiko and Usami next to him, "Here we are. The lunch room. I packed you two a lunch, so you won't have to worry about getting up for food. We'll be sitting back there with Brittany and a few of my friends."

"Jeanne won't be sitting with us?"

"She sits with her own table. It gets pretty loud in here, but don't worry about it," Johnny walked ahead of them and waved them over, "Come on," They both nodded and followed Johnny to his table. All the whole the jocks glared at him.

Once they arrived at the table, they greeted by Brittany, "Hey you three. How is their first day so far?"

"It's fine from what I can see. However, people can tell they're a little different," Johnny answered.

"I never expected everyone to be so casual in their speech. Everyone maintains such casual speech even when talking to higher authority," Maiko started, "It seemed so awkward."

"Maiko is used to speaking formally to others."

"We can tell," Both Johnny and Brittany say in unison.

"Oh, by the way, these are some of our friends. You guys wanna introduce yourselves?" Brittany asked while looking at the three.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I know who they are. Daniel," Maiko waved over to him and added, "Your slip up was quite..."

"Don't talk about that...," Daniel softly pleaded.

"What happened?" Brittany questioned, "Oh wait, let me guess. He swore out loud on accident?" Maiko and Johnny nodded causing her to laugh.

"That's the 4th time already this year that they're calling my parents for that. It's not my fault."

"Try to keep it on the inside dude," Johnny added, "Uh, this is..."

"Pam, I've already spoke with her a little during class. She helped me with some of our questions and helped me catch up..."

"That sounds like her," Both Johnny and Brittany say in unison.

"I just like helping people out. Is that so wrong?" Pam softly asked.

"Not at all. I'm glad to see someone who is willing to help others," Maiko smiled brightly at Pam who smiled back.

"She got her to smile. I'd say she gets an A+ so far," Johnny added.

"Ha, I guess you two know me already. I'm..."

"Someone who enjoys drawing naked girls in their notebook," Usami quoted in a monotonous way.

Luke froze while everyone looked at him and quote in unison, "Yeah, that's sounds like him..."

"Hey!" Everyone started laughing at Luke, but he joined in on it too. However, behind them, a looming darkness closed in. Johnny felt this and quickly turned and grabbed someone's wrist.

"Johnny?!" Brittany yelled.

"Get your hands off me. I didn't even say anything," It was Brittany's ex-boyfriend, Billy.

"But you were going to. I saw you from the corner of my eye," Johnny brought Billy close to his face, "You won't lay a hand on these girls. Not while I'm here."

"I can arrange that," Billy winded his hand back to punch Johnny, but it was grabbed by Brittany, "Huh?!"

"I don't think you should get yourself in trouble right now. Either of you," Brittany pulled Billy away and stood in front of Johnny to hold him back, "Homecoming is next week and I don't think the school would like it if you weren't able to play in the game. I think it's best you just stay away from us."

"He's right dude," One of Billy's friends add, "The homecoming game is next Friday. We can't risk dealing with him a week before."

"Man," Billy backed up and shook his head, "This isn't over Johnny. After homecoming, you're dead," Billy walked off leaving them alone and Johnny sighed.

"Last time you said that, I left you on the ground bleeding... in front of you...," Johnny looked over at Brittany and chuckled, "It's been a while since then huh?"

"I guess. Johnny I..."

"No, no. We've already gotten past that. We're friends now right?" Johnny held his fist out and Brittany nodded and the two fist bumped each other.

Jeanne in the distant barely reacted to them however, "Jeanne, normally you'd freak out whenever Brittany would do anything with Johnny. What's up now?"

"I don't know. I don't feel the hate I use to feel towards Brittany. I guess with how she's acted around them, I guess I don't see a reason to hate her."

"She's not even like that around them anymore. I've seen her help others recently ever since she dumped that whole rich-girl personality of hers. She seems nice to hang out with."

"Hm...," In the midst of lunch, their necklaces started to glow, "Uh oh...," Jeanne looked over at them and the 3 ran off. However, Johnny went back and pulled Maiko and Usami with them.

"What's our problem here?" Johnny asked as he pressed his gem.

"Johnny, Jeanne, Brittany... we're being under attack again. This time, the army is bigger than the first attack. It looks to be over 800,000."

"800k? Is it the Darkness?"

"No, it's the other 2 nations."

"Other 2...?"

"Looks like the Civil war has begun..."

* * *

**-Epilogue-**

"Whoa!" Johnny rode across the room on an office chair before crashing into the wall.

"Johnny, be careful," Brittany pleaded, "Don't hurt yourself please..."

"I'm fine," Johnny wiped himself off as he sat next to Brittany and placed his arm around her.

"Johnny...," Brittany blushed as she shied away.

_You two are cute._

"Eh? Writer?!" Brittany exclaimed.

"Just thought I'd drop in to explain how the next chapter will go on, but seeing as how well you handled the last epilogue, I don't need to. Brittany, would you like to explain how it goes."

"S-Sure. Uh. For the next event, a big battle will happen between the next few chapters. Yes, this might be another multi-part chapter. This is the first major battle of 3H. Our writer here has actually planned and hand-written battlefield plans for the battle.

       

       

       

       

For those reading on Wattpad, you will be able to see the battle plans above. I'm still not sure if Ao3 allows pictures and I know for sure FictionPress doesn't allow pictures like Wattpad. So uh, those on wattpad will be able to see how the plans look. This last part will probably only be on Wattpad then. We also found out that Ao3 does all pictures, so this will be there too!"

"Also, you may have notice that this chapter was short apart from this epilogue. Well, that was because the writer was in sort of time crunch when it came to writing this chapter. This was one of those filler chapters to make way for this major chapter. We've done a lot building  between the 3 of us, but now it's time for some real action. Everyone will be there!" Johnny added.

"Yes, not only will the 3 of us be there, but Ladislas and the twins will also be making their vocal return. Yes, they were in the Family Drama chapter, but they were only referenced. This time, they will return full force!"

"We hope you enjoyed this chapter and the rest to come! So long!" Johnny gleefully added.

"I could get used to this. Uh, Writer! How'd we do?" Brittany asked.

"It was superb. I'll leave the epilogues to you 3 for now on."

"By the way, where's my sister?"

"I didn't think about writing her in. Not all epilogues will star the 3 of you. Some will have 2 of you, just one of you, or perhaps a whole other character."

"Ah, we understand. Anyway, thank you for reading!"

_**Next time: The One Battle Civil War** _

"I straight up love that..."


	8. The One Battle Civil War: Phase 1 and 2

"What other nations are there? I never read too much on the other nations. Who are they?" Johnny questioned.

"There are 3 other nations surrounding the main capitol of Iprionia. The nation of Bleacia is led by the Nobleman Willum and the nation of Faclana led by the Warrior Lady Lilia. Lilia and Willum have been at heads with not only each other, but against Alicia's family for not properly using Chosen One's," Jeanne explained.

"Why are they attacking after such a bad attack not too long ago?" Maiko questioned, "Who knew this would come so early into Johnny's reign."

"It seems there's only one way to stop it is in just one battle," Johnny stated.

"Huh?" Everyone questioned Johnny as he pressed he looked at Maiko and Usami.

"I need to get the both of you home before I head off to Irprionia. You two head off there now and talk to me over our necklaces. Come on girls," While they split up, Jeanne and Brittany teleported off, the gems on their necklaces began to glow fiercely.

In Principal Rockwell's office, his necklace glowed fiercely as well, "It must be bad if it glows this much. Don't let us down Johnny..."

On Iprionia, Jeanne and Brittany met Alicia in the main throne room while she paced around. She paid no mind to them as she seemed to be panicking, "Princess?"

"She's been like this since they arrived," Beside them Ladislas stood in full armor with a battle axe on his back, "She's much too worried because of how heavily outnumbered we are."

"I know there's over 800k, but after the events of the other week, how many do we have?"

"Only 250,000. They're quickly surrounding the front, but it also seems Bleacia and Faclana are fighting amongst one another as well."

"We're low on generals too. We're in for a rough time if we let this continue on for too long."

"Not to mention your lives in the Earth Realm. This could get in the way."

"Johnny," Brittany started, "Johnny, can you hear me?"

Johnny drove through lunch hour traffic at high speeds as he answered, "I hear ya'. What's the situation?"

"Not good. We're outnumber 8 to 2. There's no way we can outlast a prolonged fight. What's our plan."

"I'll explain when I get there. I've been having a plan brewing few a while now. This plan will make sure this ends in one battle."

"Okay... please hurry. The princess isn't having a good time right now..."

"Where's our mom...," Jeanne questioned, "If she's really picking this back up, then she should be here too."

"Contact her."

"She would've answered the minute she heard Johnny's voice. We'll just have to assume she'll arrive soon."

* * *

 

On Earth, Johnny had successfully dropped Maiko and Usami off before he stopped them, "While I'm gone, lock the doors and don't let anyone in. No matter who it is, don't let anybody in. If someone somehow gets in and they're hostile, don't hesitate from using force."

"Right...," They respond in unison.

"I'll be back soon. I'll protect Iprionia," Johnny pressed his gem and teleported to Iprionia.

After he arrived, he gathered Jeanne, Brittany, Ladislas, Alicia, Sai, and the twins in the war council room and laid out the map before them, "We'll be at a disadvantage due to the dense wooded area in front of the drawbridge. In order to prevent that, we will have to clear the area."

"But that'll..."

"I know, but if we want to clear the area around us then we'll have to change the terrain a bit..."

"Isn't there a terrain changing spell?" Brittany questioned.

"Yeah, but I haven't learned it yet," Johnny questioned and Jeanne nodded, "Sai, can you do something about the terrain for the battle?"

"It'll take some time, but I can do it."

"Give me an estimated time..."

"About 1-3 hours. That's a lot of land I'll have to change, so it will take about that long if I have no interruptions. I can set up an altar in the castle grounds, but I'll need time to perform my prayer."

"I understand. They can only come from one way and that's from the drawbridge. Haha, looks like it's day one again," Johnny smiled brightly as he looked at the map.

"But you'll have us this time. We'll take position with you and work together," Jeanne stated, "I can't let you have all the fun."

"Right. Haha, alright, My companions and I will take position in front of the drawbridge. The rest of you will be positioned near or around the altar. In case any get passed us, you'll need to take care of them before they reach Sai."

"Right!"

"Ooo! What do we do?!" Madoka questioned.

"Calm down Madoka...," Ladoka pressed the bridge between her nose and asked, "What's our job Chosen One?"

"You two will take position with Alicia. If they somehow get over the moat and over the wall, you two with stick with her and make sure no harm comes to her. Ladislas," Johnny paused before he elbowed behind him. Someone flipped away from him and chuckled, "Elaine..."

"Mom?" Jeanne questioned, "When did she get here?"

"She was here for a while, but she tried to touch me very inappropriately. She can do that here since the legal age of consent is 14 as opposed to 16 in some states or 18. Normally, I would've called the police, but I can defend myself."

"Johnny is mean..."

"Stop. Anyway, both you and Ladislas will be taking position within the castle until I give the signal to my two companions."

"Huh? Us?"

"Wouldn't it be better if we assist the 3 of you defend the drawbridge. I'm sure our lieutenants will be happy to defend the altar. Why do we stay back?" Ladislas questioned.

"It's part of my multi-phase plan. This is the first phase. Jeanne, Brittany, and myself will defend the drawbridge until the enemy sends in an attack from their generals. That's when Ladislas will move to assist Brittany to meet the nation that pushes from the right and Elaine will assist Jeanne to meet the nation from the left. I'll hang back and do what I did my first day here."

"Johnny," Jeanne started, "these nations know your power. They're going to throw everything they have at you. Are you sure you're ready to be able to handle it?"

"Haha, to be honest, I hope they make it challenging. Everything that's been thrown at me has been too easy. I'm hoping they provide me with a decent challenge."

"Johnny...," Jeanne was about to say something, but she shook her head, "Alright, just don't go too far. Pull back when you need to."

"I should tell you that. I know how you get during battle. You should chill during a battle. Anyway, that's during Phase 1. We'll be on the defensive of course for most of my phases."

"How many phases are in your plan?" Brittany asked.

"I have 4 phases. My final phase is when we go on the offensive. I'll save that for later. You'll know when the 4th phase starts."

"Can we hear the other phases?"

"Right. For the 2nd phase, I'll need everyone to pull back to the castle and defend from there. Do not meet the enemy unless they are 500 yards away from the castle. By then, I expect the area to be cleared of the forest. Use the visual assistance to determine how far the enemy force is from the castle. I will remain at the drawbridge. However, Sai, I will need you to move in to assist me on the drawbridge. Stop any volleys from hitting me and any mages."

"I understand."

"Elaine and Ladislas will continue to support Jeanne and Brittany in their side of the defense."

"What's the 3rd phase?"

"This is where it gets fun for me. For the 3rd phase, everyone except myself will retreat back into the castle, and I'll buy time for Phase 4 to take effect."

"Wait, you're meaning to tell me you're going to stay out there alone?"

"Yes, at the end of the 3rd phase, I will require everyone to feign a retreat back into the castle and lure the enemy to the front of the drawbridge. From there, Phase 3 will begin and open the way for Phase 4."

"Johnny!" Jeanne exclaimed.

"I can't allow this!" Elaine exclaimed, "I will not allow you to risk your life for a world you don't live in! You need to change your plan."

"I don't agree with that first part, but yes. Your mother is right Johnny. There's no way to can fend off that many soldiers and generals alone. Chosen One or not, you're still a beginner," Ladislas explained, "Your powers will only get you so far."

"That maybe so, but I'm never one to back away from a challenge. If they want a fight, then I'm going to give it to them."

"Johnny...," Brittany could say nothing as she was obviously shocked. However, she was also impressed with Johnny. He was taking this battle by the reigns and taking order. Just as he should for his role as the Chosen One.

"I will require that defensive weapons be set up both inside the castle and along the castle walls. This is just so we keep the enemy in position for Phase 4. The result of the battle hinges on this final phase."

"Johnny, for that, we would like to know if you need any upgrades to your armor or weapon," Madoka asked, "We'll be happy to buff them up quickly for you."

"That won't be necessary. I won't expect them to push the drawbridge with their officers until Phase 2. For now, this war council is over. Alicia," Johnny looked at Alicia who was still nervous and bowed to her, "I promise that I will defend your castle and make them see the light. I will show everyone that the Darkness will fall at my blade. I promise you that."

"J-Johnny...," Alicia stared at Johnny as he bowed and smiled, "I trust you Johnny... I trust you..."

"Right, let's get in our positions!"

"Right!"

* * *

 

Moments later, Johnny stood with Jeanne and Brittany at the foot of the drawbridge with their weapons drawn. Sai had already begun her prayer with a handful of lieutenants accompanied by Ladislas and Elaine ready to defend. In the balcony outside her main quarters, Alicia stood with Madoka and Ladoka at her sides.

In the far distance, two massive armies: The Bleacia Liberation Army which sported and estimated 350,000 soldiers with 3 officers to command them and their nation's leader, Willum Favre. They advanced and set up position directly to the northwest.

To the northeast, the Faclana Imperial Army stood strong with 600,000 soldiers and 5 powerful officers under the command of the nation's leader, Lilia Kyzros. They stood with soldiers a plenty and many powerful officers in their arsenal. Johnny, Jeanne, and Brittany still stood strong as they awaited the impending attack.

"You three know how Phase 1 will go, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. Remember, when the enemy sends in an attack, I'll need the both of you to move in to meet their attack. For now, we'll stand here and stop any troops that get too close. However, I do believe that we'll be playing the waiting game until they figure out that we're planning something."

"Are you sure our messengers will be able to get back with the right information?"

"I'm sure or at least I'm sure. Either way, we have our first wave of troops," Johnny pointed over beyond the trees as troops of two different styles charged towards them, "You girls ready?"

"Yup!"

"Alright, let's do this for Iprionia!"

"Yeah!"

At the altar, Sai was in the midst of a prayer when an arrow nearly hit her. She quickly dodged left when she turned to see where it had come from, "Where did it...?"

"Song Maiden!" An arrow came flying towards her as Ladisalas yelled and she dove underneath it, "Where are they coming from?"

"They're coming from the woods. They're using the trees to their advantage. They can peak into the castle from there. That means they know about the altar. They'll push the drawbridge a lot more now that they know. Elaine, please inform them."

"Alright," Elaine pressed her gem and spoke, "Johnny, there are archers taking shots at the altar from the trees. They know that we're planning something with the altar. What's your plan?"

"That's what I want. Keep the prayer going. Let them charge in. It'll make this phase go by faster."

"But..."

"Just do as I say Elaine. This is part of my plan..."

"Alright...," Elaine turned to Sai and sighed, "He said keep the prayer going. Find an area where the archers can't miss you. I'll see if I can figure out where they're coming from and take care of them."

"Okay," Sai ran to an area where the trees are just barely over the wall and restarted her prayer.

Elaine ran to the middle of the altar and watched before drawing her bow, "Hm...," Elaine and nodded before firing her bow, "Haha! Nobody shall harm my son!"

* * *

 

About an hour or so later, Johnny's messenger returned, "My lord! Both nations are making their move!"

"Got it. Jeanne, Brittany, that's your cue," Johnny pressed his gem and said, "Elaine, you and Ladislas need to move and assist Jeanne and Brittany now."

"They're moving in?" Elaine asked.

"Yes, move out now and meet them. I'm staying at the drawbridge."

"Johnny, my son, please be safe..."

"I will. Don't worry...," Johnny looked over at his friends and nodded before they ran off to do their job. Johnny looked at a group of soldier charging at him and he smirked. He swung his spear and took out that same group, "Haha, still feels the same," Johnny stretched and walked forward, "Hopefully all of you are actually challenging!"

"It's the Chosen One...," The soldiers were a hit apprehensive at first but they charged in at him all at once.

"That's right. Come to daddy...," Johnny shook his head as he said this and sighed, "Okay, don't ever say that again Johnny..."

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Jeanne and Elaine were off to meet the Bleacia Liberation Army, "So Jeanne, impressed by your brother?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's powerful and he's quite the tactician. Has he always been this way."

"Well, his reaction time and dexterity have always been insane, but I never knew he could come up with strategies."

"It seems he's a situational strategist."

"Why do you say that?"

"He wants everything to line up perfectly. I would guarantee that if everything didn't go as planned, his strategy would fail. I also sense something else from him."

"What's that?"

"He doesn't know how to handle people."

"I guess I understand you there. He's quite disrespectful towards people."

"I guess that's why he has the two of you. Both you and Brittany can deal with people. He can't. Johnny and his ancestors always had trouble dealing with people."

"He seems to be doing fairly well at school."

"That's because he's not under any pressure. Now that he's here on Iprionia and the fact that Alicia's life hinges in his plan puts a lot pressure on him. He may not look it now, but he's pressured."

"How can you tell?"

"When you love your kids in a maternal way, you just see the differences in their body language and tone to distinguish how they feel. You love Johnny just as much. You should be able to know how he feels."

"I..."

* * *

 

To the east, Brittant moved with Ladislas who spotted the enemy army, "Faclana is over those hills. We must meet them in combat Brittany!"

"Right," Brittany turned to the small group of soldiers and spoke, "I know that tensions have been high within our ranks, but if you truly believe in Alicia, then you will do everything in your power to ensure she wins today! Are all of you ready to give your live for the princess!"

"Hrah!"

"Good! Now, charge!" Brittany ran ahead of everyone as the two armies collided in a massive battle.

Brittany took out each soldier with ease as did Ladislas. Morale was high amongst Alicia's forces, but they seemed to dwindle as the fact that they were severely outnumbered came to mind.

"How long must we hold them off?"

"Until Johnny initiates the next phase of his plan..."

"I hope that's soon..."

* * *

 

Meanwhile in at the drawbridge, Johnny had multiple bodies surround him while he sported a look of boredom on his face, "Come on! I want a decent challenge! Can nobody provide me with one!"

"H-He's too strong! R-Run!" The soldiers began to flee as Johnny chuckled.

"Ha, this placed is gonna get donked if these soldiers don't step up. Well, it seems that it's time to start Phase 2," Johnny pressed his gem and ordered, "Fall back to the castle walls. Phase 2 has begun."

"On it!" Jeanne, Brittany, and Elaine respond.

Johnny looked around and nodded, "I expect the prayer to take affect right about now," Johnny snapped his fingers as the trees faded away to reveal archers falling to their death. However, Johnny closed eyes and thrust his hand forward and a few puffs of clouds appeared to save the archers, "No unnecessary deaths. After this battle, all the nations will come together as one. That will bring us one step closer to defeating the Darkness," Johnny nodded before smiling, "Ha, the name is kinda rubbing off on me. Maybe my ancestors aren't as bland as I thought."

* * *

 

Once Brittany, Jeanne, Ladislas, and Elaine took positions back by the castle walls and Johnny along with Sai prepared to watch the enemies movements, "Sai," Johnny pointed beyond the horizon where another battle was taking place and added, "They're fighting each other as well. Hm..."

"What will you do?"

"Over a million people will die today. That's a fact I've already come to believe. However, it's necessary."

"Necessary?"

"Sacrifices this large will lead to a much brighter future. All this will be necessary in order to combat the Darkness. Soon, they'll know that fighting each other won't do anything but cause this world danger."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

"You seem to have known a lot despite only being here for a month. Why the sudden change?"

"I'm still the same whether I'm here or back home. I just get serious when I'm excited about something."

"Are you sure you're not pressured?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but this battle is exciting me. I never got excited in our past battles, but this one has me pumped."

"Don't overexert yourself Johnny. You still need to think about your companions. You know they would be worried sick if you ever got injured."

"I doubt I'd ever get hurt unless I'm unconscious."

"That's exactly you should control yourself. You're unaware when you're not awake. Need I remind you of our first encounter with each other."

"Look, that was just an inconvenient situation. It will never happen again."

"You can't predict anything like that. You need to ease your arrogance."

"I'm arrogant because I can back up that same arrogance. I wouldn't act arrogant if I wasn't confident enough to be arrogant."

"Hm..."

"Anyway, we have another wave. Get ready..."

"Right..."

Johnny and Sai prepared themselves for the next impending wave of enemies. Johnny nodded at Sai before the two charged in.

* * *

 

Moments into their defense, the soldiers began to disperse and pull back slightly, "They're pulling back. Why?" Johnny wondered.

"Johnny, look," Sai pointed over at 3 officers advancing towards them on horseback, "I know those three officers."

"Who are they?"

"The 2 on the right are officers under Willum. They're his two personal bodyguards."

"Bodyguards? Shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"No, they're feared amongst Alicia's army. They have the strength equal to that of a 100,000 troops each. They're feats match yours."

"Really?" Johnny looked at the two and smirked, "Sweet, a challenge. What about the 3rd officer?"

"That officer is the sister of Lilia of Faclana. She wields two halberds and is a master tactician and most feared warrior."

"Hm, seems like they're throwing their strongest officers to take me out."

"No, they seem to want a duel against you."

"A duel?"

"What's your plan Johnny?"

"I'm not one to turn down a duel. I'll face them. Just make sure no troops get passed the drawbridge."

"Got it."

Johnny walked forward with his spear in hand to meet the three officers, "Chosen One!" Lilia yelled, "I shall face you and make a name for myself."

"So you're Lilia's sister. Identify yourself!" Johnny ordered.

"My name is Kei Kyzros. I am the Commander of Faclana's Army! I want to show my sister that I am the strongest in the land. I will prove that by defeating you Chosen One!"

"My name is Johnny One by the way. Anyway, I will allow you to duel me, but I am the Chosen One. I won't hold back."

"Just a minute Chosen One! You shall face us!" The two officers under Willum arrived one wielded a spear and another had a large club, "I am Gaspard!" The soldier to the right yelled.

"And I am Jacob!"

"And we shall defeat you for our lord Willum!"

"Wait in line officers of Willum! I have arrived first and will defeat him!"

"Now wait a second you three. The troops you have brought to attack have been disappointing. I want a challenge and what better challenge than taking on all 3 of you at the same time!"

"Huh?!" They all respond in unison.

"I want a challenge and I've been given nothing but disappointment. Hopefully the 3 of you can provide me with a decent challenge!" A massive explosive aura shot out of Johnny as small bolts of lightning surrounded his body and multiple incantations followed his every movement, "Come on! If you want to prove to everyone you're powerful, then do it by providing me with a challenge!"

"Ha! Not matter what state you become! I shall defeat you!" Kei charged foward with Gaspard and Jacob charging behind her. Johnny smirked as they charged at him.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Brittany and Ladislas saw a small enemy force advancing towards them, "Looks like we someone is advancing towards us."

"Why don't we greet them, huh Ladislas?"

"Are they within the engaging line?"

"I think they'll pass it by the time we get there. Let us advance Ladislas."

"Yes milady!"

In the east, Jeanne and Elaine watched as Willum's army held their position, "They're cautious. They're not attacking like Lilia's army."

"Willum has a young advisor/strategist that is at his side during battles. Their tactical prowess is almost unmatched. However, I don't think they planned for Johnny. Which is why they'll only observe for now."

"I see. However, they don't seem to care much about their troops. Johnny is wiping them out with ease."

"Troops are expendable in war. It's your officers that make the battlefield. If you lose a very valuable officer, then the morale among your army will fall drastically causing the battle to get just a bit harder."

"Any tips on preventing that from happening mom?"

"Here's a small tip: When battling at disadvantage like this, it's always good to have a plan to combat that disadvantage."

"That seems like the usual...," Jeanne interrupted which earned her a slap to the back of her head, "Ow..."

"You didn't let me finish," Elaine cleared her throat and continued, "However, once you find yourself on the ropes, it is always good to retreat. Retreat doesn't mean that you've lost. It means you're ready to fight another day. Just fall back regroup and prepare a strategy to combat the disadvantage. Total annihilation and surrender are the real signs of defeat."

"I see..."

"Remember, discretion is the better part of valor," Elaine looked towards the horizon and and smiled, "I know for sure Johnny knows that quote well."

* * *

 

Several minutes later, Johnny stood in front of Kei, Gaspard, and Jacob who were all exhausted while he was fine and bored, "Hm, I guess it was fun for the most part, but my companion put up more of a fight than what you 3 offered. That was very disappointing."

"Enough! You have no right to taunt us!" Kei yelled.

"I actually have every right to taunt the 3 of you. However, that ends there. I will show the three of you mercy and prevent any further bloodshed."

"Huh?"

"All this fighting is unnecessary. Why can't Willum and Lilia understand that the true enemy of the land is the Darkness and not Alicia. Fighting amongst ourselves will do nothing but cause more problems."

"But..."

An arrow came flying towards them and Johnny was quick to cut the arrow down, "No! These 3 shall not be harmed any further," Johnny waved over behind him and a few soldiers arrived, "We will tend to any wounds that I have inflicted upon the 3 of you."

"Why?" Kei answered, "We're your enemies Chosen One..."

"You're not my enemy. Your lords are just blinded by their own sense of righteousness. This battle will help ease the unbalance between the nations. Trust me. The tensions will be gone following this battle," Johnny looked over at the troops around him and asked, "Whether all of you fight is beyond me! You either give your life to defeat the Darkness, or you waste it by fighting this pointless civil war!"

"A-...," One of the soldiers started and continued, "All hail the Chosen One!"

"That is not what I asked, but I'll take it..."

"All hail the Chosen One!"

"Well, this will begin the Phase 3," Johnny pressed his gem and ordered, "Everyone, pull back. Phase 3 has begun."


	9. The One Battle Civil War: Phase 3, 4, and Aftermath

"Johnny...," Jeanne stopped next to Johnny who overlooked the massive force moving in on the capitol, "Are you gonna be fine? Blondy and I can stay back and assist you."

"It's fine. Just head on in and wait for my final signal. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Jeanne gave Johnny a hug and told him, "Please come back in one piece, okay?"

"I will," Johnny hugged her back and gave her a pat on the head, "Now get along," Jeanne nodded as she ran off inside the castle, "Raise the drawbridge!" Johnny stepped off the drawbridge before it was raised up, "Let's do it. Bring it on!"

The roars of battle cries grew louder the closer they got to the castle. Johnny sported a massive smirk on his face as he awaited both armies to attack him. He dug his foot into the dirt before taking off to fight the advancing armies head on.

* * *

Meanwhile inside the castle walls, everyone could hear the battle going on outside. They could hear the countless soldiers being killed along with the clanging of metal and iron. Jeanne, Brittany, and Elaine worried for Johnny.

However, Sai eased their nerves, "Fear not companions. I could see the fire in Johnny's eyes. He won't let himself fall to these armies. The determination in his heart will ensure our victory today."

"The sun is setting. Is he planning to use the night for his last phase?" Brittany wondered.

"We've been at it for a while. We started at lunch in our world. It's almost been 8 hours since this battle began. I guess time is a little bit behind Earth."

"If I remember correctly, Iprionia runs the same 24 hour day, but is 4 hours behind our timezone," Brittany explained, "So when it was 12 for us on Earth, it was really 8 o'clock here."

"They attacked early. They must've moved overnight. However, to move at the same time and for Johnny to predict so is very impressive of him."

"Didn't he say he planned this weeks before hand?" Elaine added, "That just makes it even more impressive."

"Johnny seems to be very intuitive on his strategies. You did say he seems to favor a situational strategy over something a little more planned as back up."

"Yes, but Johnny never once showed interest in planning this way. Before, he was always just an outdoorsy kid. I've never seen him plan stuff like this."

"Are you sure? Because when we were younger, he'd always find ways to get through something that seemed a little too hard to attempt. Like one time, Johnny and I found a massive ditch that we couldn't get across, but he found a way to get across easily."

"You two were having dangerous adventures?" Elaine questioned, "How young are we talking?"

"I don't know. Maybe 3rd grade?"

"So young?!"

"Mom...," Jeanne was about to say something else, but multiple explosion from outside shook the ground sending their attention to the front of castle, "He has so much power..."

"The power of the Chosen One is never one to be matched. No matter how many years of experience you have, your power will never stand against a Chosen One's power," Sai stepped forward and nodded, "However, Johnny's power is special. He actually uses it. Unlike the past Chosen One's, he's actually using everything at his disposal."

"What do you mean?" Jeanne question.

"A Chosen One is given a set number of skills and powers," Elaine explained, "Every one of them has a special skill set that will turn the tide of battle in a nanosecond. However, most Chosen One's don't do that which confuses me. This war could've ended centuries ago if past Chosen One's had done so."

"They're hesitant for some reason," Brittany continued, "They just don't use them for some reason. They hesitate. Johnny doesn't hesitate. He uses it without a second thought."

"He's actually very arrogant," Jeanne finalized, "But maybe that arrogance is something we need..."

* * *

Outside, Johnny was surrounded by piles of bodies with soldiers running away. Johnny stood at the drawbridge with his spear resting on the back of his neck. He stretched and sighed, "Is there no one else who will challenge me?!"

The soldiers all hesitated as Willum and his sub-generals along with Lilia and her remaining sub-generals arrived in view, "He is very strong," Willum stated, "However, Alicia isn't the right one to use him."

"And you think you are?" Lilia retorted, "Unlike you, my soldiers all writhe for a fight and it seems the Chosen One is too."

"He seems to hold his loyalty for Alicia. It is up to us to change that loyalty."

Before they could give the order to charge, an arrow right in between them startling this horses and causing them to kick them off of their backs. Both Willum and Lilia fell off and rubbed their backs, "What in the world?"

Johnny smirked as he nodded, "Phase 4 has begun!" Johnny yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Huh?"

Willum and Lilia both turned around to see a banner creeping over the horizon, "Is that?" The banner had a phoenix on it, "The nation of Zofaria?! How did?!" Lilia and Willum turned around to see Johnny smirking, "When did you plan this?"

"I had a feeling that two nations were going to attempt and attack here. So I spent the last two weeks planning with Zofaria's ruler in an attempt to end this needless bloodshed," Johnny pressed his gem and ordered, "Lower the bridge. Phase 4 has begun."

The drawbridge behind Johnny began to lower as Lilia and Willum looked down in defeat, "To think we were being played this whole time..."

"I'm sorry my lord," Willum's strategists stated, "I wish I had known of his plans ahead of time. I should have known by the way they were fighting."

"The fault doesn't lie with you Tomos. It is my fault that I hadn't taken account of how intelligent the Chosen One could be."

"Ugh... to think my army would be bested...," Lilia softly berated herself as she punched the ground, "Chosen One!" She yelled.

Johnny turned to her as his friends and family ran up behind him, "Johnny?" Jeanne asked, but he ignored her as he walked towards them. They were on their knees awaiting their punishment.

"Go ahead!" Lilia ordered, "Take my head as your trophy Chosen One!"

Johnny grabbed a nearby sword and caressed its edge. He glanced over at Lilia and brought the sword up, "Johnny!" Everyone yelled. However, they surprised when they saw that he hadn't cut Lilia's head off, but he had brought the sword down just beside her head.

"Your head is much more useful where it is now," Johnny lightly tapped Lilia's shoulder with the flat end of the sword and ordered, "Stand, the both of you," Johnny walked passed them to confront the soldiers of both nations, "Everyone, our needless bloodshed has come to an end. We all must understand that the true enemy of the land is the Darkness. Fighting amongst ourselves is just us dancing to their tune! We must work together to end this diabolical threat! Who's with me?!" Johnny pumped his fist in the air as the soldiers did the same, giving out a massive victory cry.

"He's quite the speech giver too," Elaine added, "Our Johnny has grown quite a lot in this one month as Chosen One. He has already done more than previous Chosen One's."

"Yes, and with this victory, the people will be at ease knowing that all the nations are at peace with one another," Sai added, "However, the Darkness will surely have something planned."

"That's why we're here, right Jeanne?" Brittany gave Jeanne a bright smile causing her to smile as well.

"Yeah, we'll do what we can to support Johnny no matter what!"

Alicia from her tower watched on with a massive smile, "He did it! He brought the nation's together!" Madoka cheered.

"As he said, in this one battle, all the nations will become one and our path to ending the Darkness will draw near. Johnny has proven to be quite the Chosen One hasn't he, my lord?" Ladoka questioned.

"Yes, this will bring about newfound confidence not only within our armies, but in the people as well. This will prevent any further revolts against us as Johnny is proving to everyone that he will defeat the Darkness and bring about a kind light to our land."

"Alicia! We should prepare a massive celebratory feast!" Madoka suggested causing Alicia to chuckle lightly.

"Haha, yes. A feast is very deserving after a victory like this."

* * *

Hours later, after the sun had set, a massive banquet was held with all 4 nations. Everyone sat around feasting and drinking the night away. Jeanne, Brittany, and Elaine stood around talking and conversing with one another. However, a certain someone was missing from the crowd.

This someone was Johnny. Nobody had seen him since the banquet had started. The 4 warriors began to worry for their friend and leader.

"Where's Johnny. He's the guest of honor. He should be enjoying himself," Brittany stated.

"We should look for him. Let's go everyone," They all left the dining hall to search for Johnny. They checked every part of the castle before catching him in the garden talking to Alicia and Sai, "I found him..."

Johnny leaned on the wall while Alicia and Sai stood across from him, "Johnny, what will you do about the Darkness? We've lost a great number of soldiers today."

"I know. Over a million combined, right Sai?"

"Yes. Many soldiers were killed along with many other wounded. Today was a great loss despite gaining the victory."

"Even if all nations are united under one banner, it will only do so much against the increasing number of Darkness supporters. However, I already have a plan set for that moment."

"You do?"

"Yes, if all goes according to plan, then defeating the Darkness is assured," Johnny walked passed the two and leaned on a fence, "However, the next part of my plan will be the hardest to execute I'm afraid."

"What is it? Tell us so that we can go ahead and work on it," Alicia pleaded.

"It's already starting. However, it all matters on when it's completed and how well it succeeds. If it works, then we'll be one step closer to winning this war. However, if this plan fails, our freedom can be kissed goodbye..."

"What is he talking about?" Jeanne questioned, "If this plan fails, we'll fail?"

"Right now, the nation's maybe united, but there is still unrest within the people. Though we stand united, the people lay divided. With the people in disarray like this, we must reassure them that we have a chance to win this. We win the people over, we win the war. It's advantageous that we win the people over quickly. The longer we wait, the stronger the Darkness will be."

"I understand. What's your plan?"

"This is where our use of diplomacy starts. Jeanne will move to the nation of Bleacia, while Brittany will move to the nation of Faclana. Elaine and I will remain here working with both you and the nation of Zofaria."

"Wha-," Before Jeanne could say anymore, Brittany and Elaine shut her mouth and dragged her away. They dragged her away as far as they could from where they previously were before releasing her mouth, "What is he on about? Why would he send us to Bleacia and Faclana to become diplomats?"

"I'm sure Johnny has his reasons. I'm sure he'll explain his reasons to us."

"And I will," They all turned around to see Johnny standing alone with his spear in hand, "I knew you three were eavesdropping, so there was a reason to why I would be sending the both of you to Bleacia and Faclana."

"Why big bro. Why?"

"Not just our nation here, but the other nations need to unite the people and cut the rope that divides them. Without the support of the people, we won't stand a chance against the Darkness. The Darkness keep growing if we don't stabilize their believers. We need to put the people's faith back into us. That's where the three of you come in."

"But why does mom stay with you?"

"It's obvious Johnny wants a mature woman at his beckoning call," Elaine attempted to give Johnny a hug, but he sidestepped her.

"Listen, that's partially true. I don't do all too well with people and Elaine will be able to assist me in dealing with our people here and Zofaria. Once we deal with the people, the coalition against the Darkness will ride the momentum gained from our success."

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes, our next plan is long and arduous. The next step is going to be the hardest. It's something I'll explain in full once it comes full swing."

"But Johnny..."

"We'll be talking with Lilia and Willum about linking our gems to their nations so that we could have fast travel between in Iprionia so that we could teleport there to/or from Earth. It'll make it all easier."

"I don't know. This seems all too dangerous. Are you sure this is what you want to go with Johnny?" Jeanne questioned, "Something about this just worries me..."

"I'm sure. Trust me you three," Johnny looked over the three of them as he turned away from them, "I'll go ahead and head on home. The three of you can enjoy the feast. Social gatherings like this aren't my forte," Johnny pressed his gem as he walked away causing him to fade away.

Brittany looked over at Jeanne who had been staring at the floor most of the time, "Jeanne?"

"Looks like we'll be separated in Iprionia for the time being, but I trust my brother. Let's go back to the feast. This is something we all deserve after today," Both Brittany and Elaine nodded as they went back to the main dining hall.

* * *

Meanwhile on Earth, Johnny was in his bedroom looking at something under his in his bed. It was in a drawer and in his hand, a revolver. He began to spin the cylinder multiple times before placing back in a drawer under his bed and putting it away where another gun was along with some rope. He took out his phone and saw a text from Pam, "Had a feeling they saw it."

Instead of texting back, he decided to call her despite it nearly being midnight. He waited for a little bit before she picked up, "Pam?"

"Johnny... we saw..."

"I had the feeling you three did."

"What happened?"

"Look, it's a lot that's hard to explain and something that's harder to believe. However, if you do somehow understand and believe it, then I want you to make sure that you don't tell anyone else at school about this," Pam fell silent after Johnny said this, "Pam?" He softly asked.

"I-I understand... please explain..."

Johnny broke down everything that had happened the last month. From the first day of school, to the duel against Brittany along with the sudden 180 she had. He even explained why he had been leaving for lunch, and where he was that day.

Johnny waited for a response and didn't hear one for a while. She was silent the entire time he explained. He soon thought that she was just speechless and found everything he said hard to believe, "I know it's something that just seems too far fetched. I understand that you especially would find this hard to believe."

"No, I believe you. It was just a lot to take in. Johnny, it seems that this world, Irpionia, is at its end with the people. I understand that your sister and Brittany will become diplomats under two nations while you and your mother watch the other two. If you ever need any insight, don't be afraid to ask me."

"Yeah. I'll do that. I'll be sure to give your more information on Iprionia. If you can, I can lend you some history books about Iprionia so you can have a more general feeling about the history and its denizens."

"How will you contact me when you're in Iprionia? I don't have a necklace like the four of you. How do I contact you if you need my help on Iprionia?"

"Uh...," Johnny looked back at the jewelry box that the necklace he wore was in and walked to it. Inside, another necklace was there, "Hm, mine is Wind, Jeanne is Electricity, Brittany is Fire, and my mother is Water. This necklace in here is a dark brown. That means it's either..."

"Earth or something else. Wait, what are you saying."

"Tomorrow after school, meet me at my car. I'm going to see if we can do something with this necklace..."

"Wait, but..."

"Don't worry..."

* * *

That next day after school, Johnny waited outside his car with the necklace in hand as he waited for Pam to arrive. Maiko and Usami were with Jeanne while he waited. Instead of Pam however, Brittany was first to meet him, "Hey Johnny, why are you still here at school?"

"Oh, I'm just waiting on Pam."

"P-Pam? W-Why?"

"I just gotta give her something. The two of us talked about it a little last night."

_"W-What could he be giving her?"_  She took one good look at Johnny and saw the necklace in his hand, "Wait! You're giving her a companion necklace!"

"Yeah. Problem?"

"First of all, how does she know about Iprionia?!"

"You're telling me you didn't notice the table at lunch today?"

"Hm..."

-Earlier at Lunch-

"Hey everyone. Yesterday was a handful," Brittany started as she took a seat next to everyone. However, she could feel an odd tension between Daniel, Pam, and Luke. Namely Pam, "Uh, what's with the vibe I'm getting right now?" Nobody said anything, so Brittany turned to Johnny for an answer, but he too was not wavering, "What's going on?"

"Let's just say they caught yesterday that blew their mind," Johnny slowly answered.

"Hm," Brittany thought it over and she slammed her hand on the table shocking everyone, "did they cancel the 2nd season of Demon Hunters!"

"What? N... oh my god...," Johnny rubbed his forehead as he looked at Brittany in disappointment, "You can't be this big of an airhead..."

-Present-

"I still don't think I've caught on and what was that about being an airhead?"

"Look, they saw us teleport to Iprionia yesterday. Pam text me when we were in battle yesterday and I explained everything to her. She offered her assistance in the politics as she knows that my mother will not be enough to help. I'll be giving her this companion necklace and some history books on Iprionia so she can offer some insight."

"But Johnny..."

"She's willing to help. I'm not one to turn down something that can be beneficial to my plan."

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Everyone asks me that too much," Johnny took one glance at Brittany who sported a look of worry on her face. He faced away from her and simply stated, "Yes, my mind is set on this."

"What about Daniel and Luke?"

"When they step up, I'll deal with it them. As long as they're not bringing it up around us, I won't bring it up."

"Okay..."

"Alright, look, uh. There's something I actually wanna ask about the homecoming dance this Friday...," Johnny started, "Hehe...," Johnny scratched the back of his head as he proceeded leaned on his car, "Brittany I uh..."

"Y-Yes...?" Brittany knew what he was about to ask, but wanted to hear him say it.

"Uh..."

* * *

**-Epilogue-**

"Ah!" Jeanne yelled, "Why'd it get cut off there? That was such a bad way to end it."

"It was for was to set up the shock value in the next chapter," Johnny explained, "Come on, the chapter was going on too long anyway. It was best to end it before it went on any longer. Anyway, we hoped all of you enjoyed the battle we had. The writer already has another battle planned out, but that won't happen for a while. For now, the writer seems to be focusing on more relationship building between myself and a few of the characters."

"Yeah, and he didn't want us to reveal who they were," Brittany added as she entered the living and took a seat on the chair to the left of Jeanne, "Be sure to voice your opinions on who you think Johnny should be with or who your OTP is even it isn't possible."

"If you say that, people are gonna ship with someone I don't want to be shipped with...," Johnny added.

"Oh, like who?" Jeanne asked.

"I don't know. I just feel like the OTP's are gonna get weird later in the series..."

"Well, I hear Team Brittany in my ear, so I have nothing to worry," Brittany gleefully stated.

"What? No, they're definitely for Team Jeanne!" Jeanne retorted.

"Jeanne, you're my sister. That's not how it works..."

"What?! That type of relationship is popular in stuff like this!"

"Yeah, but they aren't always chosen. They're just there for aesthetic. Anyway, we hope you enjoyed, and that you enjoy the next chapter! It's a special one!"

"Wait, I'm not done!"

**Next Time: The Great Iprionian Soirée!**

"No wait! What was that about a gun and rope under your bed!"


	10. The Great Iprionian Soirée

"Yeah Johnny?" Brittany held her chest as she waited for the most anticipated question of her life.

"Uh, do you know anyone who would need a date for the homecoming dance?"

"...eh?" Brittany eyes widened as she stood dumbfounded, "Eh?!"

"Yeah, I can't seem to find anyone who wants to go out with me. Well, I have, but a lot of them are just... meh..."

"..."

Brittany still stood dumbfounded as Johnny sighed, "I'm starting to think of some very dangerous ideas on who to take."

"Wait!" Brittany yelled at the top of her lungs, "What about me?!"

"What do you mean you?" Johnny calmly asked, "I know you would want to, but I'm sure there's someone out there much more suited for you."

"No!" Brittany yelled once more, "Why can't you understand that I want you...?" Brittany softly uttered, "I showed that I wanted you when we first met Sai. I want to be with you Johnny..."

"And I told you that we need to focus on just being companions for now. If we decide to be a couple, that would hinder our jobs as diplomats of each nation. We need to focus on that before anything else."

"Then why are you looking for someone as a date to the dance?"

"Because, I wanna live a little. Besides, it's only this one time. We all deserve something to mellow out in after this past month," Johnny then gave it some thought before he nodded, "Actually, I might not even go. There's no point in me even going..."

"What?!" Both Johnny and Brittany turn around to see Jeanne sprinting towards them with Maiko, Usami, and Pam following from afar. Jeanne leapt and attempted to tackle Johnny, but he quickly side stepped her. She turned around and glared at him, "What do you mean you're not going?!"

"I mean, there's no reason for me to go. As much as I deserve to go out like this, it's just not my thing. I would expect you of all people to know that Jeanne..."

"Well, I thought you would've at least gained some confidence this last month, but I see that's not the case..."

"Anyway, you girls can figure out what to do for the dance. Pam, I'll need to show you some stuff on Iprionia. Maiko, Usami, mind helping me do so?"

"Sure," Johnny stepped in his car followed by Pam, Maiko, and Usami. He quickly drove off leaving Jeanne and Brittany at the parking lot.

"W-Wha..."

"Man, I totally forgot Johnny didn't like school dances," Jeanne started, "I should've seen this coming."

"Did you have something to do with his dislike of dances?"

"What?" Jeanne sarcastically asked before adding, "Of course I did something. I didn't think it would affect him this badly though."

"What did you do?"

"I kinda had his date for the dance dump him before it because I didn't like her..."

"Jeanne..."

"Look, I just didn't want him going with anyone. Unless it was me."

"Your brother complex definitely needs to be checked."

"It's not that bad..."

"Yes it is, but I think your mother has you beat in terms of a connection complex. Either way, he needs a day out away from that house."

"My brother is an introvert. That's not even because of me. He doesn't like being in too large of a crowd and prefers his group to be small."

"That doesn't add up..."

"How so?"

"Well," Brittany started, "first there's us. Then there's Maiko and Usami. Pam, Luther, and Daniel. Along with Alicia, Ladislas, Elaine, Sai, Madoka, and Ladoka. That's a big group if you think about it."

"Yeah, and everyone's very animated with varying different personalities too. You're right. All of this isn't adding up..."

* * *

Meanwhile, while Johnny drove, Pam questioned him during the drive, "Johnny, I remember you saying that you had actually wanted to go to the dance. What changed?"

"After yesterday's battle, I had to think about how much time I should put into my social life here. Granted, I didn't really have one to begin with, but I did want to go to the dance. However, yesterday's battle changed that..."

"Johnny, if I may ask," Maiko started, "What is the state of Iprionia since we were gone?"

"After yesterday, the nations are united again, but the trust of the people have dwindled which caused most of them to side with the Darkness. This is where we'll step in as diplomats to possibly ease the tension between each nation and its people."

"Could that be the reason our father turned against Alicia?"

"Possibly. I would believe so."

"Our father turned his back on Alicia," Usami began, "he holds no place in Alicia's Kingdom if he surrenders."

"Let's not go too far Usami. Besides, before we even think about taking on the Darkness, we need to gain the trust of the people again while we build our own numbers."

"If I remember what you told me Johnny," Pam started, "You said easily over a million soldiers combined were killed in battle. This will be a blow to the war against the Darkness."

"Exactly. If we even attempt to fight the Darkness head on, it'll only prove a death sentence regardless if I take the field of battle," Johnny sighed while they pulled up to a red light, "Look, we must remain calm before the storm. If we take our time to properly plan the inevitable battle, then we'll be able to hold up against the Darkness," Johnny turned to Pam and smiled, "That's where we get the brains of Pam on our side."

"Wait, Johnny, I still don't know anything about Iprionia. Before I even step into the role of strategist, I'll have to figure out the history of the Darkness and how they fight a battle. It will take time to analyze everything properly Johnny."

"I know. We'll use this time we have wisely. For now, I want you two girls to help Pam here understand the history of Iprionia. If she's going to help us, she'll need to be brought up to speed on Iprionia."

"Right. You can count on us Johnny. But uh...," Maiko softly uttered, "Johnny there's something that she could learn now..."

"Huh?"

"Maiko, I don't think he would want to...," Usami responded.

"What is it?"

"Well," Maiko shyly started, "there's a big ball that happens around this time on Iprionia called The Great Iprionian Soirée. It's like the homecoming dance at school, but it just stars a lot of the higher class officials of Iprionia. It hasn't been too big due to the tension between each nation, but thanks to yesterday, the ball will actually be nice. I was hoping if you'd accompany us..."

"Uh," Johnny took a moment to think about it as the light turned green, "Well, if it's only for high class officials, wouldn't it be impossible for you two to take part?"

"An invited patron can bring a max of 5 guests. This means you could take the 3 of us without problem."

"B-But...," Maiko softly stuttered as Johnny pulled into the house.

"You know, I actually would like to go," The 3 girls looked at him in shock while he explained himself, "I never wanted to attend that homecoming dance because of possible drama between me and Brittany's ex-boyfriend. Maybe attending a place where I actually feel comfortable will be a nice change of pace especially if it's around people I actually like."

"I wanted to go alone with you...," Maiko softly uttered under her breath.

"Is it the same day as the homecoming dance?" Johnny turned and saw Usami nod, "Alright, I'll go. I think I can find something to wear by then. Do you 3 have anything to wear for it?"

"I think I do," Pam started, "But I don't know if it's nice enough for something like this..."

"Don't worry Pam. I'm sure it'll look fine," He turned to Usami and Maiko and asked, "What about you two?"

"Uh...," The both say in unison.

"I'll see if Elaine can do something for you two. She might go if she knows I will."

"What about Jeanne and Brittany?" Pam wondered, "If you go without telling them, they'll be pissed."

"Uh, hehe," Johnny chuckled and sighed, "I have a plan for them," Johnny stepped out his car after turning it off, "Pam, I'll give you your necklace and we'll have a short visit to Irpionia so you can meet with the princess."

"Like this?" Pam pointed out her rather unkempt school uniform in embarrassment.

"It shouldn't matter. Besides, I'm sure the tailor and blacksmith will create something for you."

"Uh..."

"Come on. Maiko, if you could, can you make dinner again tonight?"

"Yeah...," Everyone stepped out the car and into Johnny's house. Maiko walked into Johnny's room with Usami following behind her, "Usami, I was really hoping that he would've just taken me..."

"You have to understand who Johnny is. He thinks about these ahead of time. If he just chose someone for something like this, the others would be pretty sour about it."

"Yeah," Maiko took a seat on the bed and sighed, "Johnny wouldn't just aimlessly invite us to the ball without taking into consideration of his sister and Brittany," Maiko proceeded to lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Usami sighed and sat next to her sister to comfort her.

* * *

Meanwhile in the living room, Johnny placed his bag on his couch and took the necklace out of it, "Alright, now...," However, when Johnny turned around, he saw Pam just standing in front of his door, "What are you doing?"

"I didn't want to be rude..."

"Come on," Johnny ushered her over to his living room and she did, "I need to explain to you what happens when you put this necklace on."

"Alright," Johnny sat on the couch with Pam following afterwards, "What will happen when I put that on?"

"For now, nothing big. However, as soon as you do, you sort sign a contract with me."

"Like a spiritual contract?" Johnny nodded, "You explained that your mom, sister, and Brittany are you companions. Is that the type of contract you're referencing?"

"Yes. You will become my Chosen Companion. A companion who is almost as powerful as me, but still controllable. However, I already have 3 companions who can fight. I need a strategist. I can come up with my own, but I'm not very certain of my own strategies."

"Wouldn't strategies be unnecessary if your strength alone can match that of over 1 million men?"

"Yes, but strength alone will not earn anything. In order to properly handle our disadvantage in battle, we need a well defined strategy. Remember, a well defined strategy is worth more than a hundred thousand men. Combined that with a band of powerful warriors, and you have yourself a defining victory."

"I'm not sure if I'm confident in battle strategies. The most I've ever done were my rp groups. Even then, everything was pretty much pre-determined with a little bit of rng mixed into it."

"To be honest, I pretty much relied on rng in yesterday's battle. I want your insight on battle. I'll need you to help me out with some proper strategies."

"Hm..."

"However, there will be a time where you will be called out onto battle," Pam stiffened up at this. She knew she would, but she wouldn't be able to bear the thought of killing someone let alone fighting in a war, "It might be a hard pill to swallow, but it's something that's inevitable."

"I understand..."

"You might understand, but that doesn't mean you'll be okay with it. When the time comes, just be sure to tell me where you stand."

"Alright..."

Johnny glanced down at the necklace and looked over at Pam, "Alright, the minute I put this on you, you will become my Chosen Companion. Are you ready for a task like that?" Pam fell silent for a second, "I won't put it on you until you give me the okay."

"It's fine. I'm going with it..."

"Okay," Johnny took the necklace and proceeded to place it over Pam's neck. A few seconds after putting it on her, the gem started to glow brightly, "It's taking effect. Just give it time..."

"The gem is dark brown like you said."

"Brittany told me our gems determine our element of choice. Brittany is fire, my sister is electricity, Elaine is water, and I'm wind. Yours is most definitely earth."

"I see..."

"Once the sequence is done, we'll head onto Iprionia so that you can meet Princess Alicia," Johnny stood up and nodded, "We'll teleport there and the teleport will feel awkward at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Is it nauseating?"

"Depends on how motion sick you get."

"I'll be fine..."

"Alright," Once the gem stopped glowing, Johnny held his hand out, "now that the contract has been sealed, we'll now head off to Iprionia. Just take a hold of my hand and we'll head there now."

"U-Uh..."

"Don't worry Pam, everyone there is extremely welcoming."

"That's because they know who all of you are. I'm a complete outsider to them. How will they react to me?"

"They didn't react negatively when they saw Maiko and Usami. They're at the lowest of the caste system."

"Caste System? Wait, so they're practically the lowest of the low on Irpionia?"

"Basically. I kinda wanna keep them here on Earth as opposed to Iprionia. They've come to like Earth the last few weeks and I don't want to take that away from them."

"I see..."

"Yeah. That's a good thing. This lifestyle is something much greater than they're own and they're living in it for free. This is basically a blessing for them."

"I asked Princess Alicia to set up a room, but I might cancel that request. Besides, they might be safer here anyway."

"You explained that their father is part of the Darkness. Keeping them here would ensure their safety."

"Exactly..."

"Mhm..."

"Uh," Johnny scratched his head and took a hold of Pam's hand, "We have no more time to waste let's go ahead and go."

"R-Right...," Johnny nodded as he pressed his gem causing them to teleport together.

* * *

In mere seconds, they were now in Iprionia standing on the Warp Gate in the capitol, "Here we are," Johnny walked forward and held his hand out to show her the view from where they were, "The world of Iprionia."

"Whoa...," Pam walked forward and saw how vast the world looked. From where they were, mountains, great plains, forests, and many other types of biomes were as far as the eye could see, "This is amazing Johnny..."

"It is. Take it in for a second."

"Johnny?" A voice from behind called out. Both Johnny and Pam turned around to see Alicia walking towards them, "You have a guest. Who is this?"

"She's a friend of mine from my school. Introduce yourself Pam."

"U-Uh," Pam quickly bowed and said, "M-My name is Pam and I'm a friend of Johnny. It is an honor to meet you Princess Alicia."

Alicia smiled for a short second before she noticed the necklace around her neck, "Johnny," She sternly started, "is that a companion gem around her neck?"

"Y-Yes..."

"When?"

"Just a few moments ago."

"Why?"

"She's going to assist me in coming up with strategies for future battles."

"Johnny, we can't keep allowing outsiders in and out of Irpionia. First you take those two villagers with you to Earth and now you've brought someone else from there."

"Trust me here Alicia. I promise she will help in anyway that she can."

"What have her parents said?"

"Uh..."

Alicia sighed and looked at her before looking back at Johnny, "You didn't even console her parents?"

"Haha...," Johnny nervously scratched the back of his head, "No..."

"Johnny..."

"Look, trust me. I need this type of help. Not only can she help with strategies, but she can assist us in other ways."

"Like what?"

"Uh..."

"Princess Alicia, if I may interrupt," Pam began, "I may not know much about Iprionia, but Johnny explained the entire situation we're facing. I'm willing to spend my time studying and learning about Iprionia so that I can be useful. I'll even go as far as learning how to fight."

"Pam, this war is a very dangerous thing to get into and as Johnny's companion, you need to be ready to be his shield. Will you be ready be his shield if need be?" Pam paused for a short second before giving a stern nod, "Alright, Johnny, I will entrust you with training her properly."

"No problem. I just wanted her to meet you and I would possibly like to know if we can have Madoka and Ladoka create Pam some armor and a weapon."

"Johnny, I don't know how to handle a weapon...," Pam softly responded.

"Don't worry. We'll tell them what we want. They aren't busy right now, are they Alicia?"

"Not too busy. They should be ready to create her a loadout."

"Alright, come on Pam."

* * *

On Earth, Brittany went through her massive closet looking for the right dress, "I gotta find the perfect dress for the dance!" However, a most recent event crossed her mind, "Wait, Johnny isn't going...," Brittany slumped down in her closet as she held one of her dresses, "What am I going to do now. I only wanted to go because of Johnny..."

At the same time, Jeanne spun around in her room with a lavender dress on, "I can't wait for Johnny to see me in this... dress...," The same thought of Johnny not even attending the homecoming dance crossed her mind too, "Ah! I forgot he wasn't going!"

"Jeanne!" A voice called out, "Is everything okay up there?!"

"Y-Yeah dad! Just uh... yeah!"

"Um... alright!"

"Man..." Both Brittany and Jeanne say at the same time, "I wish he was going..."

* * *

Back in Iprionia, Johnny and Pam walked back to the Warp Gate with Pam scratching her head, "A fan? How is that a weapon?"

"A war fan. Maiko told me she has experience on how to properly use one in battle. I think Sai does too."

"Did someone call my name?" Sai called out from another hallway, "Good evening Johnny and Pam."

"How does she know me?" Pam wondered.

"She knows everything."

"That I do. Anyway, I see that you've made Pam a companion, correct?"

"Yeah, I feel like she can help us here against the Darkness. What she can't do physically, she'll be able to help through her intellect."

"I see. Well, I also heard that she needed help handling a war fan, am I right?"

"Yes. If you could show her some pointers whenever she comes to Iprionia, that would be greatly appreciated."

"No problem. Next time she's back here, I'll look into helping her handle one."

"Yeah, thank you. Well, we'll be heading back to our home. I don't want her getting home too late and having her parents get worried."

"Alright, but Johnny, will you be attending the ball?"

"Yeah, I might as well attend it. I'll be heading there with Pam, Maiko, and Usami as my guests."

"That's fine. I don't think Alicia will be bothered."

"Alright cool. Well, I'll see you then Sai," Johnny waved Sai with Pam giving her a calm bow before following Johnny.

On the day of the ball, Johnny stood in front of his bathroom mirror with a rather basic tuxedo, "Eh, I mean...," Johnny walked out of his bathroom rolling his shoulders, "I still don't like wearing stuff like this..."

"But sweetie," Elaine called out from behind, "You don't want your guests to feel weird around you right?" Johnny turned around and was practically stunned when he saw Maiko, Usami, and Pam wearing elegant dresses while looking incredibly stunning, "Surprised now huh?"

"I would be lying if I said no. Hell, you did a wonderful job mom," Johnny chuckled as he looked at all of them, "You 3 are absolutely beautiful..."

"Hehe...," The three of them chuckled nervously while twirling their hair or dresses.

"Ahem!" Elaine coughed, "I do believe someone else deserves a compliment!"

"Oh right," Elaine smiled as she waited for her compliment, "You did a great job getting them ready for the dance."

"Huh?!" Elaine shouted in shock, "Johnny!"

"Right, right, sorry. You looked gorgeous mom."

"Hehe...," Elaine blushed severely as she held her cheeks which were flushed red.

"Mom, if you could, teleport these 3 to the ball? I have to go fetch Jeanne and Brittany."

"Oh, uh sure. Why not just text them or contact them through the gem?"

"I wanna pick them up personally. You know, surprise them a little."

"Alright, don't take too long. Alicia made you the guest of honor."

"Okay. I'll head there now. I'll see you 4 there," Johnny walked to his car and nodded, "Alright you two, I hope you two like this surprise."

* * *

At the dance, Jeanne stood around just sipping on a cup of punch, "Man, this is just grocery store bought punch. How cheap..."

"Hey Jeanne...," Next to her, Brittany had her dress on with a long face.

"Oh, h-hey Brittany."

Brittany stood next to her and sighed, "So I guess Johnny really didn't come huh?"

"Yeah, and we were both hoping he would come," Jeanne sighed while stretching, "This was my one chance out of the year to wear a dress in front of my brother, and he's not even here."

"Jeanne, why do you love your brother the way you do?"

"Hm? That's a weird question to ask out of the blue. Uh," Jeanne scratched her head and turned to Brittany, "I grew up believing that my brother and I would always be together. I guess that thought turned into something much more than that. I love my brother there's no doubt about it. I just can't wrap my around whether or not...," Jeanne only paused as she turned away from Brittany.

"Whether or not what, Jeanne?"

"Whether or not the love I feel is simple love towards a sibling or something much more..."

"I understand. Maybe it's just Johnny's personality. Everyone is just so attracted to Johnny in one way or another. Johnny's vibe around him is inviting and makes people feel comfortable whenever they're around him. Yeah he might be different on Iprionia, but just him as a person attracts everyone."

"Hm..."

"Hey Brittany!" A gruff voice called out.

"Oh no... one of the reasons I wanted Johnny to come..."

"Is that...?" Both Jeanne and Brittany turned towards the voice to see Brittany's ex-boyfriend who were with his friends, "Ugh, now I really wish Johnny was here..."

"I see you're not with that chump, Molly huh?"

"It's Johnny. Get it right."

"What the hell do you want?"

"Just trying to see if 2 girls want to take a ride with us..."

"Not a chance meathead," Jeanne sternly interrupted.

"You didn't let me finish," Brittany's ex smirked towards his friends and nodded, "We're not taking no for an answer..."

"Huh?"

They reached for Jeanne and Brittany, but were immediately stopped by someone else, "What the...?"

Jeanne and Brittany turned towards who stopped them and they were shocked to see Johnny in his tuxedo, "Johnny!"

"What?!"

"Sorry boys, but I've got to take my guests here to somewhere better than this place "

"Johnny, you came," Brittany softly said as she looked him with relief.

"Yeah, but we're not staying here. We're going somewhere else. Let's go," Johnny grabbed both of their hands and led them out.

However, Brittany's ex stopped them, "Hold on! You're not going anywhere chump! I'm not letting you steal anyone else from me."

"Something can't be stolen from you if it's not yours in the first place," Johnny sent a glare towards them and chuckled, "Now let us be and you can prey on other girls."

"No!" Brittany's ex threw a punch in their direction, but Johnny was quick to grab it, "Huh?"

"Dude, I already embarrassed you once. I don't want to do it again."

"Oh yeah?" Brittany's ex ushered his friends to surround him, "Well, I have my buddies to back me up."

"Hey!" Jeanne and Brittany tried to intervene, but the group of students at the dance blocked them from doing anything in order to watch.

"So you need to jump me to do anything? It really shows how tough you are. I guess you're only a wide receiver. Maybe that's why."

"Get him!" He ordered.

"Welp, I'm about to ruin this man's whole career," Johnny quickly looked around before jumping in the air with his wrist still locked and ran across his attackers face before delivering one fierce kick to Brittany's ex's face, sending back into the table.

Johnny turned around and roundhouse kicked the next friend before being tackled down by another jock. Johnny tried to wrestle him off, but another came in ready to stomp.

Johnny easily dodged and tripped him, causing him to fall on the one who tackled him down. Once he loosened his grip, Johnny squirmed out but barely had time to rest as Brittany's ex was on the attack immediately afterwards.

Johnny was ready for him as he stood his ground when he tackled him. Johnny smirked as he kneed him in the chest and backed up towards a wall. Johnny proceeded to walk up the wall while delivering stiff knee strikes to his head.

The other students got back up to help, but Johnny waited for his moment. He kicked off the wall and used the momentum to spin and kick them all with him landing back on the ground and lifting him off the ground and slamming straight onto the table.

Johnny stretched his back and dusted himself off. He looked around and chuckled, "Considered your career ruined," Johnny walked past the gathered crowd and met up with Jeanne and Brittany, "Shall we go?" Johnny held his arms out for them to take it, "We're late."

"Uh...," They looked at each other before smiling and taking each arm for themselves.

"Good, now let's go..."

Brittany's ex groaned as he slowly sat up, "This ain't over Johnny! This ain't over!"

"Hmph," Johnny scoffed while walking away, "I doubt it will..."

On their drive back to Johnny's house, both Jeanne and Brittany were ecstatic about what Johnny did, "Oh man! That was awesome bro!"

"Nobody has ever seen him get his ass kicked like that. You just made history Johnny."

"It's not over between the two of us though. He'll try to do something again. I'll be ready. He's not even a challenge."

"Still, that was awesome bro," Jeanne excitedly stated, "And you did it whole looking like a stud in that tux."

"Right, this whole thing is ruined now. I don't know what to do," Johnny sighed as he pulled into his house, "Well, I hope Alicia can help..."

"Alicia? Where are going?" Brittany wondered, "Wait..."

"Are we going to...?"

"The Great Iprionian Soirée?!" The girls ask in unison.

"Yeah. I feel like this soirée would be better than some stupid homecoming dance. I mean, all the people we care about is there. Well, almost all of them."

"Dad didn't sat anything about attending. Wouldn't he want to go since he's a former Chosen One?"

"Maybe he wants to give up on going to Iprionia. Anyway, let's go. Everyone is waiting on us," Johnny hovered his hand near his necklace and looked at them, "You girls ready?"

"As ready as ever!" They say in unison.

"Cool, let's go," And they were off to Iprionia.

* * *

In the capitol Johnny, Jeanne, and Brittany walked through with Alicia and Sai meeting them in the hall, "There you 3 are. Your mom and friends are already waiting in the main ball room. Everyone is waiting on the guests of honor," Alicia took one glance at Johnny and wondered, "Johnny, what happened to your attire?"

"Yeah. I ran into a small problem. I was hoping you could help me get a new attire."

"No problem. The twins had already finished off a back-up dress attire for you."

"Wait Princess," Brittany started, "You said we were guests of honor too. I thought Johnny would be the only guest of honor."

"Brittany, Jeanne, you two have done your parts during your time as his companion," Alicia explained, "You two deserve to be guests of honor just as much as him."

"That's correct," Sai began, "I mean, Brittany is a very benevolent woman who puts her friends before her," Brittany smiled as Sai turned to Jeanne, "And you Jeanne, you have a fierce heart equal to that of a tiger. The both of you deserve to be guests of honor just as much as Johnny here."

"Hehe..."

"Well, while you two take in this moment, I'm going to quickly get dressed. I'll meet you two girls in a minute."

"Right."

"Show me the way Alicia," Alicia nodded and ushered Johnny to follow her.

"And you two shall come with me. We'll wait for Johnny close by. Hopefully they won't take long."

Meanwhile, Johnny was standing on top of a box, "Uh, are you sure this is fine?" Johnny had an all blue and white dress suit that looked to have been from the Renaissance period, "It fits fine, but does it look nice?" Johnny turned around to see Alicia gawking at him, "Oh, I guess I do look nice."

"U-Uh..."

"So milady," Johnny bowed lightly and held his hand out, "Shall we go and greet our patrons?"

Alicia stared at his hand and she smiled gleefully, "Yeah!" Alicia took a good hold of it and led the both of them to the main ball room.

* * *

Moments later, Johnny, Jeanne, and Brittany were all waiting, "Wow Johnny," Brittany started, "You look amazing..."

"Yeah. You look awesome hot stuff," Jeanne added as she placed a hand on Johnny's back.

"Well, let's have a good time at this ball. We deserve it...," They all nodded as they heard Alicia announce them.

"Now, please give your attention to our guests of honor. These 3 have protected our world despite living somewhere else. Not only have they fended off the Darkness, but they have managed to reunite the nations of our wartorn land. Please give your applause to the Chosen One, Johnny One, and his closest Chosen Companions, Jeanne One, and Brittany Smith."

The three of them had a massive door open for them and they walked out to a loud applause. Everyone they had met in Iprionia was there.

Ladislas, Madoka, Ladoka, Sai, Maiko, and Usami. Their friends back home were also there. Elaine and Pam waved at them as they were given a loud applause. Not only that, but the leaders of the other nations were also there. A pure wave of happiness overcame our heroes as they began to take it in.

* * *

A few moments later, Johnny was seen standing off on his own, but he was smiling lightly the whole time, "Johnny," Brittany walked up to Johnny with her own drink in hand smiling back at him, "you're smiling. Do you enjoy this?"

"Yeah," Johnny answered while twirling the drink in his glass, "I never wanted to go to a dance associated with the school because I don't like most of the people at school. Besides, your old group ruled the school and it would be hard to enjoy any second of it knowing I stole you away from them."

"Oh...," Brittany looked down and fiddled with her dress, "I'm sorry for roping you into all of that..."

"What? Why are you apologizing for that? It was fun kicking that dude's ass. And as for everything leading up to this day well...," Johnny put an arm around Brittany and clanked his glass with hers, "it's been one helluva month."

Brittany blushed madly as he wrapped his arm around her, "J-Johnny..."

"I knew you weren't that spoiled rich girl I saw my first day. I love this much more rambunctious you. The you that doesn't hide itself behind a false personality," Johnny pulled his arm back and turned to the others who were in different small groups, "You have to stay true to yourself. Don't let this godforsaken society change you into a person that prevents you from expressing who you really are."

"Oh..."

In the midst of their conversation, the live orchestra began to play slower, more romantic music, "Haha, would you look at that," As it started, people around them started to dance with someone, "Looks like we've hit that part of the soirée."

"U-Uh..."

"Well," Johnny turned to Brittany, bowed, and held his hand, "shall I have this dance Ms. Smith?"

"I-I...," Brittany was then abruptly pushed forward into Johnny's arms, "Ah!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Johnny gave Brittany a warm smile before leading her to the dance floor, "Let us dance..."

Brittany quickly turned around to see Jeanne, Sai, and Alicia giving her a thumbs up. Brittany smiled back and went on to enjoy her moment with Johnny. Jeanne turned to Alicia and asked, "Are you okay with that? Despite you and my brother being in an arranged marriage?"

"Brittany knows about the marriage, but it's good to let her have her moments. Besides, our marriage won't have affect until we both turn 16. So she still has 2 years before that time comes."

"Alright then, whatever you wish milady."

"You should be happy for her," Sai started, "Brittany has actually held back not only because of Alicia, but because of you and she knows that. Her knowing that you're giving the okay makes her happy."

"I know. It's best we get back on even terms. Even if that means letting her have some moments with my brother. I may not like it, but I don't want to lose the trust of my partners."

"That's quite honorable of you Jeanne."

"You have to do what you need to in order to save a world."

"I understand..."

"Besides, he still doesn't know about who leads the Darkness..."

"That's one piece of information that he should never know," Alicia interrupted, "If he does, all is lost for us..."

"Yeah..."

* * *

-Epilogue-

"Whooooa!" Both Johnny and Jeanne rolled on some office chairs across the back of the living room with Brittany and Pam sighing at them.

"Guys, be careful!" Brittany shouted.

"We're fine!" Jeanne shouted back.

"Should you introduce who our new guest here is Brittany?"

"Oh Writer, uh, I don't think I should. The narration said Pam was here, but uh, yeah. Pam is now here everyone since she slowly became part of the main cast."

"Kinda sucks that the other guys aren't here."

"I think we should keep it on the down low for them."

"For now."

"Don't Writer, please?"

"Oh fine. You're lucky you're my favorite girl."

"Anyway, we're all sorry for the long wait on the next chapter. Our writer here needed to finish off and work on another one of his series: SAHS! The book is currently on its second volume with the 1st one completed and a hypothetical 1.5 volume in the works! Please go check it out for him, please!"

"Yes, you guys might remember us mentioning SAHS as one of the series we watch in the story! Our Writer here loves this story and so does his friends whom he has shown it to. Please support that story and this one as well! Also, our Writer here decided to enter both this story and SAHS Vol 1 into the wattys! Be sure to send your support to him on his Wattpad, PhantomDrummer!"

"Anyway, some more relationship building will happen over the course of the next few chapters. The next big battle won't happen for a while as the Writer needs to prepare more battle plans for the next battle. So please bear with us on more action-packed battle chapters. Minor Battles will haplen from time to time, but nothing like the One Day Civil War."

"Brittany, I still need to learn how to handle my war fan."

"Hm, just think of it like Zhuge Liang's fan."

"Uh..."

"I know it's a game, but work with me here."

"I-I understand..."

"I guess this leads to our next chapter."

"Oh, I've always wanted to do this."

"Well, let's do it."

Next Time: Pam's Training

"My first next time and it's..."

"Pretty bland?"

"Yeah..."

"Come on guys..."

"Sorry..."

"Hold on, here's a better name. Ahem..."

Next Time: Defense of Statlinburg

"That's much better."

"Good. At least some people are happy..."


End file.
